The Emerald Blade
by SaintInfernalNeos
Summary: In Flight Spin-off. One good day, Zelretch thought it would be a good idea to 'borrow' a 'little toy' from the Guardians of Oa. And for a whim of Fate, that tool is now in the hands of a certain red-haired Ashikabi. How will the Magus react when the opportunity to become a True Hero falls in his hands? "Emiya Shirou of the Earth. You have the ability to overcome great fear..."
1. Prologue: When Destiny calls

Ok, so this is the first thing I ever write in English. I started this crazyness in The Mechanics of In Flight Forum as a short Joke, but now its has grew and a lot of ideas came my way, so I'm publishing it here. I Hope you all like it, or at least enjoy your time reading this little idea that was born after a evening reading too much comics. Here you have the Prologue and the First chapter, yeah!

Disclaimer: Neither Fate/Stay Night, nor Sekirei nor Green Lantern belongs the me, and neither does the setting of In Flight, property of Gabriel Blessing-sama.

PD: These events take place more or less after everyone at the Inn learned of magic and little time before that Uzume betrayed Higa and asked Shirou's help to save/heal Chiho.

* * *

**Prologue: When Fate Calls with Emerald Light** or _"The Usually Screwed Life of a Hero of Justice"_

It was a normal day in Shin Tokyo, the birds were singing, the citizens went along with their lives without a worry in the world, sexy alien girls were fighting there an there, not making really an effort to hide her super-human abilities, because let's be honest, who in the city doesn't already know about the Sekirei plan (or at the least that something is very fucked up here)?

But sadly, the normalcy of this day was bound to not last, because it was in that moment that a kaleidoscope of colors shined in a solitary rooftop, moments before that a certain old man holding a strange green artifact emerged from nowhere and stumbled a little.

"Damn those little blue and mostly bald vermins, I swear they make me look like a kid. How can someone be so old and have practically no sense of humor?" questioned none other than Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Wizard marshal himself, Sorcerer and master of the Second Magic, aka the Kaleidoscope, aka that crazy bastard that you REALLY don't want to mess up with "Well, at least I managed to distract them long enough to make them lose sight of me. Hmm, I wonder if they really liked those buildings? Maybe I shouldn't have thrown those meteors as distraction…bah, whatever, what matters is that I finally have one of THESE…" declared the Sorcerer with pride while lifting the strange object "…and I can finally begin to reverse engineering it to…"

And that was as far as he went before the object suddenly shined with emerald light, before something that resembled a tiny orb of green energy emerged from his core and flew towards the North of the city at blinding speed, and the original artifact in the hands of Zeltretch vanished without a trace.

It was a testament at how unexpected that event was that it took the man that had bested Crimson Moon by dropping Earth's satellite upon it at least 5 seconds to react.

"…well, shit, I wasn't expecting that" he muttered while gazing in the direction where the orb had disappeared "…wait a minute. Shin Tokyo… the year and month…the Sekirei plan…oh..OH, OH!" realization hit the Sorcerer's face before a smile that would had made anyone who knew who he was to run away while crying for mercy "Ha, ha, maybe this is gonna be EVEN MORE FUN that what I originally had planned for **It**…"

* * *

"**It**" was the most advanced technological tool ever made in the Universe.

"**It**" was a wonder of times and places beyond comprehension, an artifact of practically limitless power and possibilities.

And even if "**It**" now found itself in an strange place, it had only one purpose.

To choose someone worthy of "**Its**" power and responsibilities, someone who would respect the oath and protect everyone under his power.

"**It**" probably didn't knew that finding someone who fit that role SO fittingly just moments after being stolen was probably not a good sign, or that maybe a higher power REALLY liked to screw with the life of said person for its own amusement.

But alas, for its entire top advanced A.I. and for all of its power, it was still a machine with a pre-programed principal purpose, so it had to accomplish it no matter what.

Poor thing didn't even knew how much it was about to screw the world.

"_Emiya Shirou of the Earth"_ declared with an epical and deep voice the floating, shining and now talking green ring that had entered in the middle of the dining room of the Izumo Inn just moments before, floating proudly in front of the aforementioned young red haired Magus, who was staring at it with wide eyes, frozen in mid-bite of his miso soup, just like every other resident of the place, directly at the strange lantern-like symbol in it _"You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome, to the _**Green Lantern Corps**_"_

The following seconds of silence were broken by, surprisingly (or not), an eye-twitching Homura, staring directly at her Ashikabi.

"You really do take a secret pleasure in screwing with what remains of my happy and normal view of life, right Shirou?"

* * *

**SaintInfernalNeos presents…**

**An In Flight x Green Lantern Crossover…**

_With my brightest blade, in the darkest night…_

_No one who needs to be saved shall scape my sight!_

…

**The Emerald Blade**


	2. Chapter 1: Oath of Protection

Ok, here goes the first chapter, hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Neither Fate/Stay Night, nor Sekirei nor Green Lantern belongs the me, and neither does the setting of In Flight, property of Gabriel Blessing-sama.

* * *

_This world is full of shadows, unfairness and sadness. Those who are truly happy are either ignorant to the true face of the world, or will end dead. That's wrong. Why, you say? Why, because there is no balance in that, of course! So, shall we see what happens when Light is throw in this Darkened World?_

**Season 1: Lights of Emotion upon a Darkened World**

* * *

**Chapter 1: By the Oath, I Shall Protect** or _"An Ashikabi in Green Tights?"_

Emiya Shirou liked to consider himself a good person.

Maybe he was no saint, and his hands certainly had had their good share of blood (At least that of monsters, vampires, crazy Magi and a certain King of Heroes), and maybe he could no longer believe so easily in the goodwill of humanity in general like before the Grail War (Especially after the little explanation of his future self about his contract with its collective consciousness), but he really, really liked to consider himself as someone that could at least give even the strangest things (Like the Sekirei or suddenly finding himself 'married' with all the beautiful alien women) a little of the benefit of the doubt before starting any hostilities.

The further the ring explained itself, the least he was willing to give it any.

"So, let me get this straight." muttered Shirou while massaging his temples with one hand, under the attempt/curious gaze of all the Sekirei present, even Miya and Uzume. "You're some sort of magical alien ring, with the mission of searching and selecting any worthy life form in the universe to form part of some sort of space police that protects the peace and order in all the known universe?"

_"Only the 3600 administered Sectors." _answered the ring immediately.

"Yeah, the 3600 administered sectors…" repeated Matsu with a raised eyebrow, while Tsukiumi sighed ant stopped Homura from starting to bang her head against the wall.

For the third time since the ring began its explanation.

_"Also, this unit is not of magical origin. It's the most advanced technological tool ever developed by any sentient species."_

"…woah, bro, you reaaally know how to attract the craziest stuff, right?" muttered Uzume with a hesitant smile, but still eying the ring warily.

"…" no matter how Shirou tried to wrap his mind around it, there wasn't any possible way that this wasn't some plot of an enemy Magus to kill him.

I mean, c'mon, who, even a Magus who had participated in the Holy Grail War, would believe any of that crap?

And still… there was this little, old and now almost nonexistent part of him, that child who wanted to be a Superhero (So different to his now much more realistic view of how to become a Hero of Justice), that wanted to believe in the words of the ring, to believe that he had been chosen for some sort of superior force to save the world of all evil and unfairness…

And to be honest, not even in his wildest dreams would have he imagined a situation like the Sekirei's either before coming to Shin Tokyo…

He had to sigh while imagining how Rin would react to that _'idiotic and naïve'_ line of thought. He wasn't a child anymore, dammit!

"Ara, Emiya-kun, do you think that this may be a hidden trap of another of yours… fellow Magi?" questioned Miya without taking his eyes of the ring in any moment, her hands tense as if to grab a sword that she didn't had in her hands at the moment.

Let it be known that the Sekirei N. 001 was never again going to be taken by surprise from an unknown factor, no matter how harmless she believed it looked compared to her.

The scar that the Fraga had left her was lesson enough.

"That… would be the most logical answer, but seeing that I didn't immediately die when it shot to my finger, I haven't started to try and kill everyone and it bothered to stop to tell us this… 'Story', I'm starting to reconsider my initial thought about it being some sort of sentient Mystic Code…"

_"Again, this unit it's not related to any *Magi*, as you say, nor is any type of this *Mystic Code* either. It's the most advanced technological…"_

"Yeah, yeah, you only keep saying that over and over again!" shouted Tsukiumi, her short temper already over between the repetitive thing and the constants attempts of Homura to bang her head against something (It looked like the events of the past weeks and her 'change' had left her in a really precarious mind state, but the apparition of the talking ring from space had apparently made her lost it). "Why the hell can't you speak normally?!"

"Tsukiumi is right. Can't you speak normally, mister ring? You're giving Musubi a headache…" said Sekirei commented while grabbing her head. To her side, Kusano (who had been removed from her usual place at Shirou's side the moment the ring had put itself in his finger) watched the conversation curiously.

"Hmm, its speech form certainly suggest that of some advanced A.I…" muttered Matsu while eying the ring, still in Shirou's finger, MUCH more closely, making her Ashikabi suspect if she didn't had another motive for that. "Maybe it's really some sort of machine rather than those magical tools that you talk about?" if, like Shirou had said, the majority of the Magus where as bad with technology like Shirou was, there was no way that this had been sent by any of them…

Poor naïve girl could even begin to imagine at what scale the magic community was _'bad'_ with anything more advanced than a calculator (And some of them, even that…).

"Well, I… I don't know. I mean, I know for sure that there are things that magic can do that I wouldn't even begin to imagine, but as I have repeatedly said, I'm a Third Rate Magus, so I haven't studied everything or even the most strange…"

"Hmm, at least it certainly hadn't tried to harm you…" while saying this, Kazehana was too coming as close as she could to the red haired Magus, ready to rip the ring off of him if it showed even the slightest intention of harming Shirou, by any means necessary…

Except for cutting off his finger. No matter what things had she experienced, the ex-member of the original Disciplinary Squad would never harm the man that had returned meaning to her life.

"Well then, there is only one form to know for sure if it's technology or no then!" smiled the bespectacled Sekirei while reaching to touch the ring…

Only for Shirou to remove his hand of her reach, surprising her with his serious expression.

"Matsu, please refrain from trying to use your powers in any unknown artifact of possibly magical origin if we don't know for certain what it's, ok? It could affect you without us knowing or worse…"

_"Once again, this unit it's not of magical origin. Added to that, Lantern Emiya has not to worry about someone else trying to use me, only he or another worthy member of the Corps can, except by authorized exceptions."_ declared again the ring, an if it wasn't for the fact that his voice was as mechanical as before, he would had sworn that he heard some pride in the sentence _"Also, this is all pointless, Lantern Emiya. You must recite the oath and give this unit its first charge by your hands to become a proper member of the Corps. Releasing Power Battery from storage in pocket dimension."_

"What're you talking abo…" whatever Shirou was going to said died in his lips when everyone gave an startled gasp while contemplating a sudden green tear in the air, from where a sudden object the size of a soccer ball emerged, making him tense and get ready to fire half a dozen swords at it before realizing what it was.

The big, emerald shining thing now resting upon the table was, in a nutshell, an old fashioned green lantern.

Except for, of course, the mystical air to it, the unknown green material it was made of, and the ethereal and almost hypnotic emerald light that it emitted.

"What in the hell…?" started a surprised Uzume when, while the other where still gaping at this new apparition, Musubi and Kuu did the most expected thing.

The most expected thing from them, that is.

"Shiny! / It shines!" exclaimed the two while running and grabbing it.

"Musubi, Kuu-chan, no, don't touch…!" Shirou stopped mid-sentence when he realized that no, they hadn't suddenly turned to ashes, been trapped in a magical web, or been blown to hell together with the rest of them.

In fact, both girls where happily examining the lantern like little kids (Something that was more than a half truth in this case) by touching every little part of it they could, and it looked that they were about to start throwing it between them like a ball.

Oh, sweet Root, when had he become so paranoid that any thought he had of interaction with anything of unknown origin was only negative or downright mortal?

...oh yeah, it probably was when he had seen Archer and Lancer trying to kill each other in the school all those years ago. Or maybe it had been he had arrived at the Clocktower with Rin and Saber and he had seen how everyone was trying to put a façade even worse than Rin's fake school idol persona? Or maybe…?

_"Lantern Emiya, I suggest that you regain your Power Battery and start the charge before those two unknown humanoid beings destroy it."_ said the ring, snapping Shirou out of his memories and letting him presence how, effectively, the two more childish Sekirei where using the lantern as a ball to pass between each other while every other resident of the inn watched in almost hypnotized fashion.

"Sigh, Musubi, Kuu-chan, stop." declared the Magus while grabbing the lantern and putting it back in the table, much to the disappointment of a whining Musubi and a pouting Kusano. "Okay, let's say for a moment that I believe you, ring. What am I supposed to…?"

_"Please, recite the oath of the Corps while pointing this unit towards the central part of the Battery. I'm sending it directly to your brain via mental wavelengths, with the correct translation to your native language."_ declared the ring before suddenly Shirou's eyes widened as 'something' entered his head and words started to appear in his mind.

It wasn't magic; his Magic Circuits hadn't reacted like they would to the sudden invasion of foreign prana, and nothing in him had stopped the flow of 'thoughts' from reaching his mind.

It was something frightening and amazing at the same time, because it certainly had been _'something'_, some form of energy reaching to him, but it had been nothing like he had ever feel, not even when he had deployed his Reality Marble against Gilgamesh and had feel his and Rin's Od flowing thought his Circuits in streams to maintain his personal world.

It was something purer, and much more powerful.

"Shirou-tan? Are you alright?!" shouted a suddenly unnerved Matsu while everyone, except Kuu and the confused Musubi, had stood up and prepared for something, Kazehana half-way to remove the ring from his finger…

When the last thing they expected to hear made them froze.

"W-what?! Y-you expect me to say THIS, aloud?!" cried the Ashikabi of the North while staring at the ring like it had just told him to swear not to cook ever again.

_"Affirmative, Lantern Emiya. It's the oath of the Corps, after all."_

"Ara, what did it told you to say, Emiya-kun?" questioned the landlady before narrowing her eyes. "Was it something improper?"

"N-no! I-it's just that… It has to be the most absurd line I had ever heard! You expect me to believe that there is a bunch of adult aliens that say this constantly and PROUDLY?! It sounds like something out a superhero movie for children!" proclaimed a strangely enraged Shirou, provoking sweat drops to fall from the heads of most of the presents.

His strange attitude had nothing to do with that little part of him that wanted to cry out the oath while heroic music sounded epically in the back, not at all. He had buried those idiotic thoughts when he was a child.

Really.

_"Affirmative, Lantern Emiya. It's the…"_

"Shirou, can you please just say the damn oath and be done with it before it start repeating itself again?" muttered a really desperate looking Homura, receiving pointed glares from Miya and the redhead from swearing in front of Kuu.

"Homura! Are you serious?!" the undignified shout of Tsukiumi apparently only made the already bad migraine of the fire user even worse. "You can't possibly believe any of what this ring had…!"

"Tsukiumi, really? We are basically aliens in this world where not so long ago we thought that the majority of its people believed us to be something that only existed in movies or impossible to really happen, and now we know that a good part of this same 'normal' world it's filed with wizards, mystical monsters, and apparently vampires who were the first 'aliens' to be here, so forgive me if I'm willing to believe so easily in the technological talking ring from space and his Corps of super alien policemen. So, can you please do as it says and get all this perfectly rational nonsense over with, Shirou?"

"… ehm, I… I will just do that…" muttered the young Magus while he as well as everyone looked at the now panting Guardian of the Sekirei. It looked like she had just released a LOT of pent up frustration and it had left her exhausted. "So, ehm… just raising my hand like this?" he asked while pointing to the lantern with his closed fist.

_"Affirmative. Now please, recite the oath."_

There was still a part of him, the most rational, the one was most firmly set in the Path of the Ashura (And that, surprisingly, sounded a lot like Archer) that told him that he was being a naïve idiot, that this could be perfectly a complicated plan to kill him and his Sekirei, that this oath could very well be an special Aria for activating the true nature of the lantern as a bomb…

That part of him was suddenly and unceremoniously kicked in the balls by his much more little child-like superhero part, before grabbing one of his swords, pining the Ashura-Shirou to the ground an telling him to continue with a happy smile.

Huh, it was a really violent child…

"Okay, here I go, just… don't laugh."

"Oh, c'mon bro, you know us!" exclaimed Uzume while smiling widely, a clearly look of anticipation in her face. "You really think we would make fun of you for something a ring made you say?"

Preferring to save his answer to that question to himself, Shirou took a deep breath and started muttering the words that would change his life in every imaginable sense.

Again.

_In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night;_

_No evil shall escape my Sight._

_Let those who worship Evil's Might,_

_Beware my power, Green Lantern's Light!_

There was a brief instant in where everyone except Musubi, Kusano and Homura considered how to contain the giggles that were coming to them upon hearing that.

Then, the instant was over and a blinding emerald light shined between the ring and the Power Battery, making everyone cry out in surprise and cover their eyes.

And in another instant, the light vanished and everyone opened their eyes…

Only for their mouths to be left hanging open so much that it looked like they would reach the floor, or to make exclamations of admiration, in two cases.

_"Power Levels at 100%. Welcome to the Corps, Lantern Emiya"_

Because Emiya Shirou had 'transformed'. Or 'suited up' if you prefer.

The incredulous Magus was very busy gaping at himself, or to be more precise, at the sudden green and black _tights_, of all things, that suddenly covered his body from his neck to the tip of his toes, delineating every muscle of his toned body VERY much, with the symbol of the corps shining proudly in the center of his chest.

And a white and green mask that covered little more than his eyes and nose, for some reason.

"Woah, Shirou-sama! How did you do that?!" exclaimed Musubi while running around him to see the entire suit.

"The talking ring gave Onii-chan a funny costume!" joined Kuu to her 'older sister' while running around the still gaping Shirou in the opposite direction, laughing happily all the way.

"No… freaking… way…" muttered the Magus, finally regaining enough speech to form coherent words, and still not really noticing the two laughing Sekirei running around him, neither the way all the other were intently examining him.

Miya looked troubled, with a spec of pink in her cheeks; Kazehana, Tsukiumi and Matsu sported different levels of outright blushing while staring at the body of their Ashikabi and having… certain thoughts about him; and Uzume was facing other direction while fighting down a blush on her own and muttering something that sounded like _"Thoughts of Chiho, clean my mind! Thoughts of Chiho, clean my mind!"_ over and over again.

But the most curious reaction was possibly Homura's own, because she was only smiling with a goofy grin in her face.

"You see? It worked, like I told you all it would." apparently satisfied at being ignored, and capitalizing in the fact that Tsukiumi was still looking not-so discretely at Shirou, the fire user promptly smacked her head against the table with enough force to knock herself unconscious.

Not that anyone really noticed.

But all of this was lost to Shirou, because his mind was still trying to wrap around the concept that maybe all of what the ring had said could be true…

Because, how else how could explain this feeling of… rightness?

It wasn't anything like the boosts that some of his Noble Phantasm gave him, not even like when he tapped in the abilities of its previous users, no.

This felt **right.**

It wasn't like a feeling of power, even if there was clearly great power behind it, it was more like he could feel everything around him like never before, like some sort of current of energy was flowing through his veins and bending perfectly with his blood…

A word suddenly popped in his head to describe it.

**Willpower.**

It felt… like a part of him that he didn't even know was missing suddenly returned and he was whole once again.

Unknown to him, inside his soul, an emerald light started to fill the sun that shined in eternal dawn/twilight upon a Hill of Swords…

"…ring? Are you… still there?" Shirou's voice finally said, snapping everyone out of their trance/child games.

_"Always, Lantern Emiya. Your request is…?"_

"…w-what exactly can you do?" asked the new Green Lantern, before the ring said only one word, one that, in this world so different and yet similar to the one where it hailed from, had an enormous quantity of implications.

**"Anything."**

"Trace, On" declared Shirou, his mind still trying to process the implications what the ring had said, and deciding that it was time to take the risk and see what the thing truly was, because now he was fairly sure it wasn't gonna try to kill him, while feeling his Od becoming Prana and filling his circuits. "_Structural Analysis_" he added while concentrating in the ring that his eyes hadn't immediately Analyzed for some reason (The first thing that had made him feel wary of it, thinking it had a protection spell) and he SAW.

He saw…

Saw…

3$%$&$&/€OA #45SECTOR2814*=))((=CENTRALBATTERY[]{{ION()?¿!"$BLACKESTNIGHT$%&&/ #EMOTIONALSPECTRUM·%&!

_"Warning, Lantern's vital signs going haywire, activating reanimation protocols…!"_ was the last thing Shirou could hear before feeling his consciousness slipping away, that and what sounded like frightened shouts calling his name. But he still managed to process 3 thoughts before passing out.

One, the ring wasn't lying.

Two, it looked like he had just discovered that the little rule of _'A True Magic cannot be reproduced by technological means'_ wasn't totally true.

And three, at least from the little he had been able to see AND comprehend in that "_RING"_ that was even more illogical than the Jinki and at the same time more right than anything he had never Analyzed…

_"Anything… was an understatement…"_

* * *

Half a world away from there, in London, a certain black-haired Japanese Magus suddenly stopped and shuddered.

"Rin? Is something wrong?" questioned Saber while eying the Tohsaka heir worriedly.

"It's just… I suddenly had this feeling I always had before Shirou did something REALLY stupid. Only stronger than ever."

"… it couldn't be that bad… right?" the King of Knights asked her Master, while an awkward silence fallen between the two.

Well, it wasn't as if Shirou could get himself in anything worse that what they had already passed together, right?

* * *

At that moment, just outside the atmosphere of the Earth and the influence of Gaia or Alaya, a rip in reality opened…

And 6 orbs of light shining in the the colors of the rainbow, all except green, shot themselves out of it, separating and falling in different directions of the planet.

Searching…

* * *

"Okay… that wasn't me." declared Zelretch to no one while looking towards the sky with a raised eyebrow. "Should I warn the Association about this…? Nah, but I better should go search for popcorn. This is gonna be even more fucked up than what I predicted…"

* * *

**Chapter End**


	3. Chapter 2: Emerald Blade of Shin Tokyo

Ok, I'm happy that people think good of this, I was afraid it would be largely rejectedor something XP Now, answering some of the questions that popped up: This rings come from the comics continuity, so yeah, originally the green rings couldn't kill, but now they can. The Guardians were forced to remove that restriction when the Sinestro Corps appeared and started to beat the living crap out of the Green Lanterns, who BTW are the only Corps who ever had that restriction. There still is a "no kill unless there is no other option" policy, but now the Guardians understand that sometimes is needed (If not, every Green Lantern would have died in the Blackest Night event).But even if it still wasn't, thanks to Zelretch it wouldnt be a problem, because the ring is in too far away to make connection with the Central Battery in Oa.

Also, I suggest that, if you have the time, you visit the Green Lantern Wikia and look up the Summary of the seven corps, it would help a little to understand better their policys, mind-fucks and the difference in their powers, but don't try to look the ENTIRE story of each one. I did it, and it's not only TOO MUCH time, but also not necessary to enjoy this.

Oh yeah, and for the one who wondered where Akitsu was last chapter, don't worry, you will see her here, I haven't forgotten about her XP

Once again, bear in mind that I'm not a native english speaker, but I'm trying my best to not make too much grammatical horrors, sorry... but now, enjoy the chapter, yeah!

PD: Oh, and if someone haven't noticed yet, I'm trying to make an story a little more relaxed and humorous than normal In Flight while maintaining some unavoidable seriousness, but if I go too much in one or the other direction just tell me about it O,O

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Emerald Blade of Shin Tokyo! **or _"Out of the way Sekirei, here comes a Superhero!"_

Shirou found himself blinking while trying to understand where he was…wait.

He knew this place. Even if it looked a little blurred, he could never mistake it for another, because he knew it better than anyone.

This was the Hill of Swords inside his soul, the manifestation of his ideals, and his own personal view of the world.

His Reality Marble. Unlimited Blade Works.

Now, why in the hell was he here?

While he was wondering about that, the Magus finally noticed **IT**.

There was _"something"_ behind him, something enormous.

Slowly, he turned around…

And came face to face with a giant shark-whale hybrid, made of pure green light.

The Ashikabi turned Green Lantern blinked repeatedly, and not because of surprise or fear for the strange creature, no, it was because…

He knew its name.

He didn't knew how, because he had never before seen it, but he just KNEW it.

This was an entity older than time, the incarnation of willpower itself, the Green of the Emotional Spectrum (And Shirou wondered what the hell that was) given form…

Even if it was only a fading echo of what it used to be.

And its name was…

"**Ion**."

* * *

"_Three, two, one. Discharge." _

"UAAGHH!" was the first thing that exited from the Emiya's lips while coming back to the land of the living, courtesy of a very potent and precise electric discharge from his ring "Why the fuck did you do that?!"

"_Reanimation successful. My apologies, Lantern Emiya, but I had to get your heart beating again. I didn't want to lose my new owner with less than an hour of active duty and…"_

"SHIROU!/Emiya-kun!/Shirou-san!/Onii-chan!/Bro!" the Sekirei interrupted the ring's explication, Musubi and Kuu practically launching themselves to hug the redheaded Magus, making him realize that all of them were surrounding him with worried/relived expressions.

Except Homura, who seemed to have passed out in the table, for some reason.

"Are you okay?! You suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing!" questioned a very preoccupied Kazehana, who quickly joined to the increasing mass of bodies trying to kill Shirou by hugging him to death "We were about to do something and call for help when the ring told us he was gonna try to reanimate you!"

"And it worked! I can't believe it, who could ever think of installing a function like that in a ring?" wondered Matsu, her natural curiosity returning now that her Ashikabi's life wasn't in danger anymore.

"Shirou-san! Don't scare us like that!" chided Musubi while lovingly hugging her Ashikabi.

"Matsu is right. You have my thanks for saving my husband's life, ring" proclaimed Tsukiumi while putting a hand upon the ring.

No one who wasn't Musubi or Kusano failed to realize that it was a bad excuse to squeeze Shirou's hand without looking too worried. Damn tsunderes.

"Onii-chan suddenly went to sleep, but ring-chan make him wake up! Thanks, ring-chan!" beamed Kuu-chan, making everyone relieved that she apparently didn't understood the gravity of the situation.

"_No apologize is needed, unidentified humanoid life form Tsukiumi, unidentified humanoid life form Kusano. I was only following my duty as a tool of the Green Lantern Co…"_

"Ok, ok, we get it, no need to repeat yourself!…and sorry for making you worried, everyone." sighed Shirou while looking towards the ring. "Ugh, that was worse than Ea and a Jinki combined, I almost cannot remember anything… ring, remember me never to try doing that again." half joked the magus in an attempt to relax the still tense mood.

Also, why did he feel like he was forgetting something?

"_Affirmative, Lantern Emiya. Creating entry_ *Never again use the denominated: Structural Analysis on this unit* _in your personal logbook"_ proclaimed the ring, making everyone blink and stare at it in silence.

"So…it talks, has an emergency reanimation system AND a diary? Is there something that that thing of yours doesn't have, bro?" joked Uzume with a smile…that disappeared when she joined everyone at staring openmouthed at the now green-glowing Ashikabi.

Who was floating in mid-air, just above the dining room's table, with his two more childish Sekirei still tightly attached to him while looking around and to the ground in amazement.

"I believe, dear Uzume, that the answer to that question is NO." declared the grinning Magus, his ring shining with light…

And it was in that moment that the door of the inn opened and everyone had just enough time to blink before Akitsu entered in the dining room, carrying some shopping bags and blinking while eyeing the scene.

From the surprised Sekirei, to the unconscious Homura and the green and black tight-cladded and floating Shirou, where her eyes stopped, eying him more slowly and deeply than any of the others before.

Honestly, her Ashikabi couldn't be sure if he was more disturbed by her stare of by the fact that he was so used to her being in silence to his side that he hadn't noticed when she had gone out for shopping. Before all this mess began.

"Ah…I like it" finally declared the ice Sekirei, blushing deeply and not commenting about anything else.

…yeah, definitively the stare was the most disturbing part.

* * *

Working in MBI, like Sahashi Takami could tell you, was more trouble than it was worth.

If it wasn't dealing with that childish madman of Minaka (Really, what did she ever saw in him?) and his crazy ideas, it was trying to maintain what little order this madness that the Sekirei Plan was (And dealing with Karasuba wasn't even the worst part of all that. Benitsubasa and Haihane make that part more or less bearable…while the first wasn't talking about her impossible dreams about Natsuo).

Really, between helping with the gathering of the Terminated Sekirei and the involvement of the her children in the Plan, it was a miracle that she hadn't gone insane already, why with being the only competent person mentally stable enough in the higher-ups of the company.

Not to mention her son increasingly "dangerous tendencies"…

And now, someone was calling her and the childish CEO saying that there had been a problem with one of the satellites.

Thanks science for the creator of hot coffee.

"Ok, we are here. What's the problem?" asked the tired woman to the technician standing in front of the monitors.

"Nee, Takami, you have to be more cheerful!" laughed Minaka, gaining a hateful glare from the gray-haired woman, before glancing towards the technician again "So, what was that thing you said about one of the satellites, you…? What's your name again?"

"Ehm, I'm Akatsu Mamoru, sir. I have been working in the monitoring of the satellites for years. You yourself put me in this section…" muttered the dejected and non-important technician.

"Ah, yeah, of course… And the problem was…?"

"…we seem to have lost all contact with one of the satellites, sir." sighed the man while muttering about how no one respected his work "Everything was working fine like always but then…" Mamoru pressed a couple of buttons, making all the monitors show static "This."

"And you believed you need to call us two all the way here just for a minor reception problem?" questioned Takami with a tick in one of her eyes. Yeah, maybe a fail in the systems was strange, but even Sekirei technology could still malfunction and if they needed to call the higher-ups for every minor problem…

"Ehm, no madam, this wasn't a reception problem." declared the technician while pressing more combinations of buttons, making the CEO of the company raise an eyebrow while Takami looked to him skeptically "We are not sure what exactly happened, but THIS is the reason I called you. These are the lasts seconds of images we received from the satellite before losing contact." suddenly, all the screens were showing different views of Earth from above the atmosphere.

And abruptly and out of nowhere, a red glow covered all the images, before _"something"_ shining in crimson shot itself against one of the screens, making it lost the image.

The others followed barely a second later.

"Wha-? What in the world…?!" shouted Takami after the initial seconds of surprise had passed.

"Oh, my. This is certainly unexpected and interesting." declared Minaka with a strange look of eagerness in his face "You were right in calling us, Mamoru. Do you have any more data in what was THAT?"

"Ho-how can you be so calm?!" Shouted the gray-haired scientist while confronting her _boss_ "Do you have any idea what could this mean? Someone from _out there_ may had finally found the Sekirei and come seeking for his lost brothers and sisters or…!"

"Woah, stay calm, Takami-kun, you worry too much!" declared the CEO of MBI, suddenly back to his childish self, making the woman angrier at his apparent lack of interest in a potential BAD situation "Why, we don't even have proof of that being anything more than a simple fail in the camera systems, or a reflection of the sun, or…"

"Images from the nearest satellite, showing now." declared the ignored Mamoru while pressing one last button. Then the image came in, and all three suddenly failed silent.

There, in the screen that showed the aforementioned MBI satellite, there was a sinister visage.

The machine had an enormous hole going from one of its sides to the other, half-melted circuits and metal covering it.

Like something hotter enough to melt the special Sekirei alloy that made it in seconds had passed right through it.

"…you were saying?" drily commented Takami while looking towards her blinking ex-fiancé.

"…okay, that could be something. We need to start investigating this right away! You, monitoring-guy, come with me!" declared Minaka while signaling to Mamoru and exiting the room running, his cape fluttering behind him all the way.

When he had put it on, Takami wasn't sure.

"…I should have heard my mother and accepted that job as painter in Fuyuki City. I couldn't had been worse than this…" muttered the depressed technician while following his crazy boss, leaving an even more stressed scientist behind "Oh, by the way, from the look of things whatever that thing was wasn't coming to here, for now at least. It most likely was going towards Europe or somewhere like that…" Mamoru shouted before disappearing in the hallway.

Well, at least now the day couldn't get any worse…

"Hi Takami, you don't look very good." greeted Natsuo while passing by the room.

Alone.

"…Natsuo, where is the Disciplinary Squad?" asked Takami while feeling another headache coming.

"Oh, Karasuba go away on her own again, so I send Haihane and Benitsubasa to get her and…try to stop anything to get too out of hand. I didn't go because I was finishing the reports for today." answered the still smiling man.

Goddammit all, while couldn't this fucking day stop messing with her?!

* * *

"So, the ring let you fly, high-distance communication and the creation of…light based constructs?" muttered an excited Matsu while taking notes in her doohickey, raising her eye to contemplate once again the emerald glowing scientific impossibility before her, coming out of Shirou's ring.

In the form of a mini children play zone. Which Kusano was using while laughing in that same moment.

How in the world could light be SOLID?! And controlled by IMAGINATION alone, without any limits?! Madness!

…that was what she would most likely be thinking if she wasn't seeing it by herself. A little part of her still did it.

"Ehm, yes and no. I mean…"

"_As this unit had stated before, it can do anything, only limited by the willpower and imagination of the lantern. While it's true that constructs are the standard weapon and/or tool of the Green Lanterns, it's also the most basic. This unit allows its user the ability energy manipulation, creation of special shields, manipulation of the physical laws, fly at speed multiple times superior to the sound inside the atmosphere…"_

"Ok, ring, you can stop right there, you're about to break Matsu" declared the red-haired Magus while watching preoccupied how the tech Sekirei was pressing the buttons of her machine like a madman, with her eyes rolling like little balls.

"_Oh, I'm sorry Lantern Emiya. This unit didn't mean to cause any harm to the brain of Sekirei Matsu"_

"…Ah. It sounds useful." commented Akitsu, now once again in her reserved place beside him, making Shirou sigh.

For the last twenty minutes he had been showing everyone what he could do with the ring, at least what little he could while inside the inn, the hundreds of different constructs he had made and flying around only had made everyone even more amazed, while Miya admitted that, if half of what the ring was saying was true, those "Guardians" the ring had talked about should had technology hundreds, even thousands of years of technology more advanced than that of the Sekirei if they could create a machine so little that put all that had come with them in the ships.

Oh, and explained Akitsu and Homura (Who had been rudely awakened by a grinning Kazehana) everything that they had missed. The ice user had took it all with her same silent acceptance, but Tsukiumi had to use a little of her powers to stop her old rival from knocking herself out again after seeing a flying Shirou carrying Kuu-chan in a giant panda-like construct.

Right now, only Matsu, Akitsu and Kusano where still with him because Miya had made everyone else help to clean the "little mess" caused by that accident.

At least Homura seemed a little more calmed…

"_Lantern Emiya, this unit thinks you should go to a more open area to get used to the full capacities of your ring as soon as possible. With the usual option of basic training in Oa being impossible, you will only have my own information and your own creativity to go on"_

…and yeah, that was another thing. Apparently, the ring hadn't exactly come ONLY from other planet, but from a totally different universe.

He was pretty sure that someone would have noticed if, like the ring had said, there had been other human Green Lanterns before him, and the Earth was filled with strange super-human like being saving people or trying to destroy/dominate the world every day.

Like a comics-book world.

So, he had to tell the ring a little about his current situation in the world and the Sekirei Plan. It wasn't like technological tool could reveal it to anyone, even if he was pretty sure the Association would think otherwise, but he had covered the basics with it, and now he referred to the Sekirei by name instead of "unidentified humanoid life form".

Damn Zelretch, this was all his fault somehow, he was sure of it…but for one time it looked to had brought only good things to another instead of amusement to the Sorcerer

Poor Shirou, still believing that the words _"Zelretch"_ and _"good things to another"_ could be in the same sentence without sarcasm.

"Ring, I have told you before, things don't work as easy in here like in your universe" sighed the Ashikabi while dispelling his latest construct and trying to not look into the pouting face of Kusano "I can't just go out and start using your powers for everyone to see. It could bring…troubles."

Like the Clock Tower upon his head. He almost could start having nightmares while standing by imagining to what extremes they would go if they knew of the ring.

…even if it was technology and not magecraft, those bastards would probably never accept it.

So no, he couldn't go all superhero into the city while bringing peace and justice upon everyone, especially the some Ashikabi and Sekirei pair that really deserved it.

…and no amount of puppy dog eyes and crying of his little child-like superhero self was gonna change that, no sir.

"_Yes, you have mentioned how you're in a precarious situation inside another precarious situation right now, so I have been working in fixing that"_ declared the ring, interrupting Shirou of his thoughts and making him look at it _"If there wasn't any major evidence of your involvement or presence, then you could go on with your duties without problems, right?"_

"Well, yeah, but as I had told you, that's impo…"

"_I can easily hack and disability any vigilance system in this world and erase our presence from them if you will it, Lantern Emiya"_ revealed the ring, making Shirou blink and Matsu to stop suddenly and stare at it in disbelief _"If, as you and your companions have said, this Sekirei technology of this denominated *MBI* it's the most advanced around then I can do it every time that you are out in patrol/self-training duty with only a little of your willpower"_

"Wait, are you implying that you can hack with no effort even MBI's database? And you're saying that you can erase ALL of Shirou's video-recorded data very time that someone capture him with any camera without even stopping to do it consciously?" questioned Matsu with only a little of incredulity and offense to that declaration. Solid light was one thing, but for that dammed ring to insinuate it could do better than her was…! "Pff, what makes you so sure of that, oh mister greatest technological tool in the universe?"

"_That I have been doing it for the past 5 seconds, since Lantern Emiya started to subconsciously tough of it, and the only thing I can say is that if this is the best technology your world could offer then there would be no problems of my owner getting recorded ever"_ declared the ring while, to prove his point, an ethereal green screen materialized in midair upon the Ashikabi's hand _"Honestly, the locks for the diaries of most species of my native universe are more complicated than this"_

"…I-is that really all the data of MBI's bank accounts?!" practically shouted a totally out of it Matsu, her glasses reflecting those specifical emerald numbers and letters from the others like a mad mirror, while she and Shirou continued to stare at all the information that keep passing "And you are really doing this without them noticing?!"

"_Sorry if it disappoints you, Sekirei Matsu, but these humans are still a good couple of millennium of technological evolution away from being able of barely beginning to detect, let alone track, this unit. And that is of those who possess your species technology."_

"…why are my mother and sister three sizes in the central data of the company?" questioned the red haired Magus to no one in specific, with a hint of a twitch forming behind his mask, but Matsu was too occupied gaping to his ring to notice, and Kuu (Who couldn't really understand what he had meant with that.) was only staring with fascinated eyes at the "pretty letters and numbers".

He had to pause however, when Matsu dropped to her knees with a defeated expression, while eying his ring with a hateful/tear-filled face.

"You may have one this round, ring, but I will not be denied! I won't let you take away my spot as Shirou's technologically-capable ally!" declared her before running out to her room, in hopes of developing something to shut that ring's mouth.

"…_Lantern Emiya, I... this unit it's not really sure of, as you would say it, *what the hell* just happened."_

"Welcome to my life, ring." sighed the last Emiya while connecting his hand with his mask-wearing face "You get used to it. Eventually."

"…_Lantern Emiya, the lack of faith that I detect in your words is not reassuring. Anyway…shall we go on with the patrol/self-training?" _questioned the ring, receiving another shake of the head from the new Green Lantern.

"No ring, you see, even if you can eliminate me of any and all recording device, well…ehm…the people will still see me, yeah, that's it! And sadly, even with the uniform and all, this mask won't really stop someone from recognizing me!" declared Shirou while nodding rapidly, glad to have found a line of thought that could stop that more childish side of him to agree with an idea that his Ashura side (Who was finally breaking free from where he was pinned with a sword) was totally against.

After all, it was a dangerous and absurd idea; he couldn't just go all superhero and help people with his powers like that.

You can't save everyone. You could (Like him) keep trying with a more silent and bloodied path, but that was all.

The real world didn't work like a comics-book, there were too many risks to even entertain the naïve idea that he had left behind little time after the Holy Grail War, when his experiences with the Enforcers had made him accept the path of the Ashura, and…

"_Oh, that's no problem either. The standard uniform it's made of malleable will-energy. You can adapt it however you like, quite a few Lanterns do it"_ revealed the ring, making all of Shirou's thought process FREEZE.

In that moment, all the inhabitants of the Izumo Inn suddenly stopped what they were doing, none of them quite sure from where this feeling of dread had come.

"Onii-chan…?" asked a confused Kusano (Who had been watching the talk between the ring and the Ashikabi while trying to understand it all), wondering why Shirou was suddenly so silent "Are you okay…?"

"Shirou-sama…?" questioned a little preoccupied Akitsu, breaking her silent observation and reminding everyone of her presence.

"…ring…can you…repeat that, more carefully?"

"…_ehm, you can remade your outfit in whatever form you want" _answered the ring with a metaphorical eyebrow raised, and wondering why he could swear that he had heard the sudden cry of vicious happiness of a child and the pained cry of a man who was being pinned to the ground by a lot of swords.

Poor Ashura-Shirou, he had been out-voted.

"Ring…I think we have work to do. Let's go to my room for a minute." declared Shirou with a smile so big and out of place in his face that, if Rin or Saber had seen it, they would have sworn that the end of the world was coming.

In a sense, that was true. At least the end of a "normal" and rule-respected world.

"…_well, if that interested you, maybe I should mention too that a good number of Lanterns have created their own personalized version of the oath…"_ added the ring casually, making Shirou's smile grow bigger…

And for some reason, Gaia and Alaya shuddered.

Something strange, considering that the two wills of the planet were physically unable to do so.

* * *

"_How did I end in such deep shit?"_ were the not-so happy thoughts of a certain Kaoru Seo, Hikari and Hibiki barely able to keep their trembling and fear at bay while standing in front of him, facing the "enemy".

A grinning Karasuba and the rest of the Disciplinary Squad, in the roof of the building just in front of them.

"Come now. Why don't you make this easier for you, little girl, and come with me before I decide to cup to pieces that pretty boy of yours and decide to grab you myself?" questioned the Black Sekirei without losing her feral smile, her sword hanging firmly in her hand.

"N-no way! No matter how scary you are, I won't let you use me as part the super stereotypical _endanger a loved one _plan to make my onii-chan come to fight you!" declared a firm/angered/scared Sahashi Yukari, raising a balling fist to make her point…

"Mi-mistress, please keep behind me, this is a terribly serious situation!" cried Shiina while grabbing her shoulders.

…too bad that her shaking Sekirei and her own shaking legs make that worthless.

Such where the thoughts of the Ashikabi of the Thunder Twins, while not for the first time wishing to never have met Emiya Shirou.

Yeah, maybe the Ashikabi of the North wasn't such a bad good, and was the only one who actually keep hiring him, but from the first time he saw him he had known there was something off about him.

Hence why his little revelation about having been some kind of secret assassin or something like that and actually in the run from his old and even more secret organization hadn't come as too much of a surprise.

Or so he liked to tell himself.

That (And the paying part) was the only reason for why he hadn't just ran away when he had told him to keep an eye on his crazy sister as she went on with her strange crusade to "save him from his evil brainwashers".

But he hadn't signed for fighting against the damn walking terror of MBI herself, damn it!

Well, at least the klutz of Kuno and her not so much more useful Ashikabi had had the intelligence enough to run away like crazies while crying for their lives when the Disciplinary Squad had showed up, and they in return had the "kindness" of totally ignore them.

Thanks god for the little blessings, now he only had to preoccupy herself with getting himself, his Sekirei and TWO idiots alive from this death trap instead of four.

Yeah, he didn't like the odds either.

"He-hey, Ka-Karasuba, I do-don't really think this is a good idea…" muttered a hesitating Benitsubasa while looking between her leader and the poor luckless fools "I mean, wo-wouldn't Takami get angry if you harm her daughter…?"

"Silly, I'm not going to harm her. I'm just gonna hang her from the side of a building to make Shiroi-chan come to play." answered the Black Sekirei with a smiling face, one that promised murder if she dared to question her again.

"…that sounds much more acceptable" declared Haihane while scratching her nose, with the usual result of her claws sinking in her flesh "AGH!"

"Yo-you can keep with you threats all that you like, a true ally of justice doesn't run from the bad guys like you!" declared Yukari with all the courage she could muster, making Seo facepalm and Shiina to pale with her next words "Come, we will fight you and emerge victorious!"

"Mistreeeeeess…!" cried an horrified Shiina while putting himself in front of her in a trembling combat position, making Hikari and Hibiki to look at him as if he had gone mad "I-If you want to harm her you're gonna need to past me first!"

"_Okay, I know I'm not the most religious guy or anything…"_ thought a desperate Seo while seeing the slow change in the Number 04 face _"But if there is someone, anyone, up there, I could REALLY use a miracle right now!"_

"Aww, isn't that adorable? You want to die first just for her!" smiled Karasuba while unsheathing her sword, making everyone tense "You don't know how much that sickens me!" declared the dog of MBI while jumping and going straight for Shiina and Yukari like a bullet, while everyone prepared for the obviously hopeless fight…

…until a green and shining wall of green energy came out of nowhere, making the surprised Black Sekirei crash face first in it like it was of steel.

A strange and incredulous silence surrounded the two sides while Karasuba slipped towards the ground almost comically.

"…woah, praying really works. Who knew?" was the first thing to come out of Seo's mouth while a really pissed Black Sekirei started to stand up.

"Wha-what the hell?!" cried Benitsubasa while she and Haihane jumped to Karasuba's side "From where the hell did this thing came out?!"

"This…it's a sword?" questioned the clawed Sekirei while eying the construct, making everyone notice that, effectively, it wasn't a wall, but a giant two handed sword as long as the street and with a wide of almost 6 meters.

"Wha…Who did…?" started a mind-boggled Yukari, but stopped when noticing how everyone was starting to look at something at the other side of the sword, and up, so she started to look up…

And let her jaw drop while suddenly feeling like she was inside one of her manga.

"That would have been me." declared the deep and hero-like voice of the figure FLOATING in the sky a dozen meters from them, enveloped in a green aura, the hilt of the sword coming out of the emerald light shooting from his raised fist "And I'm afraid I will have to ask you to leave these people alone, Disciplinary Squad of MBI."

And green was what almost totally covered him.

He was obviously wearing a form fitting black and green suit, but that was overshadowed by the armor-like boots and gauntlets covering him, along with more armor-covered parts upon his waist and shoulders, the whole thing only making the lantern-like symbol in his chest stand out all the more.

But it was the helmet that caught most of Yukari attention.

It had and emerald-like shine like the rest of the armor parts, but this seemed more "alive" around the visor, making the strange and samurai-like design of the helmed to look like something straight out of a Sentai show.

Plus, the guy was flying. Who wouldn't stay looking at him?

"Wha…how…ahm…AH?!" where the incoherent shouts of Benitsubasa while Haihane looked with her eyes full of wonder, Karasuba's eyes narrowing in a little of curiosity and not-so-concealed fury.

"Oh? And who do you think you're to demand something like that?" started the Black Sekirei while raising her nodachi…

And blinking when suddenly the floating and weird dressed guy disappeared in a green flash, only to reappear a second later between them and the still open-mouthed "Yukari Team", hands hanging loosely at his side, the enormous blade that blocked the street disappearing.

"_Fast!"_ thought the Thunder Twins with incredulity.

"_I-I couldn't even see him! How was he flying?!" _were the frenetic thoughts of Shiina.

"…_God is a flying cosplayer?"_ apparently, Seo's brain hadn't totally rebooted itself yet.

"_So…cool…"_ were the dazed thoughts of Yukari while staring at the back of the mysterious man "Wha…Who are you?" she finally asked out loud.

Everyone waited in silence while the man looked sideways towards the "Demon Ashikabi", before looking back towards the Disciplinary Squad, answering both hers and Karasuba's question, the ring that no one had paid any attention suddenly shining in his closed fist.

"I'm the Emerald Blade."

**Chapter End**

* * *

Yahoo! And finally Shirou gains the name that gaves title to the fic :3 The Nasuverse will never be the same now... for the lulz.

Oh, and for those wondering who will be chosen by the rings? Don't sweat it, there is still a lot of time for Fate to start screwing with Shirou... like she likes XD


	4. Chapter 3: Shine, Light of Justice!

Well, here I'm, back with this madness that I like to call The Emerald Blade. I hope to write better from now on and keep getting better in this thanks to anyone who reads and comment how I do it OwO Woah, really, I didn't expect this story to be so...accepted. It boogles my mind how fast more than 50 people have added if to their favs and/or are following it, so I hope to meet their expectations, or at least make everyone who reads this enjoy their time XP And now, let's see why there are certains superpowers that don't look like much in their home universes, but can be a total gamebreaker in another... And a little of foreshadowing at the end XP

* * *

**Chapter 3: A Hero Rises! Shine, Light of Justice!** or _"The day that Karasuba learned to fly."_

In the history of mankind, the people had always sought inspiration in their most glorious figures: Heroes.

In all forms or shapes, real or mythical, glorious or infamous, even those purely fictional ones, everyone has at least once wondered one thing.

What glorious thoughts would our Heroes have had in their greatest moments? Were they thinking of how to turn the impossible odds that they were facing in their favors? Perhaps they were thinking about they loved ones or the gods or kings that favored them in order to gains strength to keep going…?

Sadly, reality isn't always as glorious as we imagine it.

"_OhgodwhatImdoingohgodwhatImdoingohgodwhatImdoing…!"_ were the frenetic thoughts of one such Hero, Emiya Shirou, the recently self-proclaimed Emerald Blade, thanking the Root for the fact that his helmet was hiding how he was sweating bullets and trying to keep a dozen of tics out of his face.

It was supposed to be a simple thing. He had just finished "re-designing" his uniform (But not showing it to anyone) and had informed everyone in the Inn about how he was going a moment to the park for a little extra training in what his ring could do.

Of course, his Sekirei had argued with him in how he should take them with him, but he had argued that it was only this time and for the better. After all, if someone saw the Sekirei of the Ashikabi of the North with the mysterious man in green suit, someone was bound to connect the dots and make his efforts of maintaining a "secret identity" to be for nothing.

They finally had reluctantly agreed, with Miya and Uzume expressing their opinions about how true his logic was.

And of course, they had still sent Homura and Akitsu to follow him "without his knowledge" from a certain distance, as he knew they would do.

Well, he knew that the two of them were fairly capable of hiding themselves if needed, and he was actually starting to get a little touched every time his "Harem" (He still got a headache with only thinking the word) did things like these.

Maybe he was actually starting to actually understand and appreciate why others showed their care for him like a NORMAL person…?

Just when his thoughts were starting to head in a direction that probably would have ended with another headache; his ring (Which has been monitoring everything around for security purposes) informed him about something that it believed could catch his attention.

Eight signals, three standing against the other five, at 1500 meters of his position, in a street that had suddenly been vacated of people. Six of the signals were Sekirei and the other two human.

The reason the ring had believed this was of any interest for Shirou? Well, one of the signals showed an uncanny resemblance to the identified image of "Sahashi Yukari", that it had seen before in MBI database, and that the Magus has identified as his sister.

Homura and Akitsu hadn't even had time to blink before an emerald light had enveloped their Ashikabi, suiting him up and shooting him to the air at the speed of a racing car.

Shirou hadn't needed to be a genius to deduce the situation, even before reaching the place and see it with his own eyes. The Disciplinary Squad, more importantly, Karasuba threatening Seo, her sister and their Sekirei.

Of course, in that moment, with his ring activated, willpower coursing through him, and seeing Karasuba launching herself like a crow of death against Shiina and Yukari, he had thrown all his careful planning and steel-like thoughts of "battle mode" to the curb and reacted with the instincts of his inner child-superhero, making his presence known by materializing a giant sword construct between the Black Sekirei and her targets.

So, maybe not the smoothest and more effective course of action (Like his pinned Ashura-self was pointing), but hey, it had worked!

Not to mention, he had had the chance to measure the resistance of his willpower constructs against an attack (Even if it was a half-assed one) and introduce himself with his new name.

Yeah, that was another thing… Shirou didn't had anything against the Green Lantern Corps, really, but he REALLY didn't wanted to go presenting himself as an illumination tool against any enemy he might face in the future. Hence, "The Emerald Blade" was born in the place of Green Lantern.

Honestly, who would ever take him seriously if he used that name?

"The Emerald Blade? What are you, some kind of mentally unstable guy like that idiot of Minaka?" mocked Karasuba without any mirth in her voice while positioning herself to attack. Maybe she didn't knew who this man was or how had he done all those tricks, but she…

"Wa-wait a minute! Who the hell are you?! More importantly, what's your Number?! I have never heard of anyone with those powers!" cried Benitsubasa while signaling repeatedly towards the still unmoving man, who simply regarded her with a glance from behind his helmet.

"I believe that there is a misunderstanding, Number 105. I'm not a Sekirei." declared the Blade, making everyone, except Yukari and Karasuba, to blink a couple of times and stare at him in disbelief.

"What?! Are saying that you're not a Sekirei?!" exclaimed an incredulous Benitsubasa, before adopting a mocking tone "Yeah, sure, then what are you? A robot from the future?"

In the mind of Sahashi Yukari, the next moment would always be a turning point in her life.

For the better? Yeah… let's go with that.

"A Superhero." was all that the man answered before raising his hand and launching the surprised Red Sekirei like a toy towards the other side of the city, her cries of indignation and terror being heard all the way.

Literally, he actually created a giant hand to grab and launch her, while enveloping her in cotton-like green light.

Another moment of silence passed between the assembled people while everyone stared towards the direction Benitsubasa had been sent flying.

"…I hope she survives the crash." muttered Seo, snapping everyone out of their shock.

"So… anyone else?" questioned Shirou rhetorically.

"…I'm going to see if she's okay. I will come back with… help." answered Haihane just before starting to run like hell in the direction where her teammate had disappeared, to go and help her.

She was in no way trying to leave Karasuba alone with the crazy human with superpowers while she got the hell back to MBI headquarters horrified, of course not.

And even in the hypothetical case she was, she would still see if Benitsubasa was all right in the way back.

"…Ashikabi Sahashi Yukari, Ashikabi Kaoru Seo, you and your Sekirei should get out of here, right now." declared the Green Lantern, observing how Karasuba looked more relaxed now that her 'teammates' were out of her way, smiling ferociously towards him "I will stop her while you scape."

"Bu-but…!" started Yukari, but was silenced when the so called Emerald Blade half-turned his head in her direction and she could almost imagine how his deep and powerful eyes were staring into her very soul from behind his helmet.

In reality, Shirou was only praying to the Root that her crazy sister would obey the strange super powered guy in green tights and armor more than her brother, all the while trying to suppress the twitch in his right eye.

Yeah, it was a really sad thing to pray for, but he wasn't in a position to care.

"Do it. I will protect you all." Then, he looked towards the three Sekirei in their side, who stiffened under his gaze "Get you Ashikabis out of here." And no sooner he said that Shiina and the Thunder Twins nodded and obeyed, grabbing the surprised humans and jumping with them towards the nearest building, probably because of how commanding the modulated voice that came out of his helmet sounded…

Or maybe because, as his ring was telling him with a lot of alerts in the screen inside of said helmet, Karasuba was coming towards him to sever his head at monstrous speeds.

What happened next would be, again, a turning point in the life of Emiya Shirou. Time later, when someone questioned him about it, he would accept that that was the moment when he started to realize in WHAT he had become in contrast with his not-so-normal world.

The point was that, in that moment, with the being that he knew was the most dangerous in all of Shin Tokyo coming towards him, he forgot that he was wearing a ring that allowed him to do almost anything, and old instincts kicked in in the only way he knew.

"Trace On!" cried the Magus as he turned towards Karasuba, Od coursing through his body while he Reinforced and braced himself to try and dodge an impact that he knew would probably left him without an arm, not noticing how his Power Aura flared to life, or how suddenly a lot of strange circuit-like lines appeared shining on top of his armor.

"Sorry Green-chan, you're about to turn red!" proclaimed the Black Sekirei with joy, her nodachi speeding towards Shirou's raised arm…

And stopping brutally while her arm almost broke, like she had suddenly tried to cut a diamond wall, making her stumble and drop her weapon, leaving it where it was, cutting barely a cm. in the Green Lantern's gauntlet.

The last Emiya blinked one, then twice, then a third time, and finally, while Karasuba was finally beginning to regain her bearings, voiced the only thing that he could think of.

"Ring…what the hell just happened?"

Obviously, Shirou didn't understand a really important thing. That is, the strange things that could happen when, in those very rare occasions, Magic and Technology worked as one.

In this case, the Ashikabi still hadn't had the time to fully question the ring and understand all what he could now do, the Power Aura, or Ring Aura, being the most basic thing out of them.

It was like a personal force-field that generated itself around all Corps members to allow them to do almost anything, and required practically no willpower to work. Contradictory, it was also the most useful tool of the Green Lanterns, because it granted them the abilities to fly (Manipulating their own gravity field), but most importantly, it Enhanced and Protected them, with capital letters.

From the deepest part of the ocean to the vacuum of space, from brutal and extremes temperatures, the Lanterns could go through it all like a kid through a park. It also allowed them to be impacted directly by alien super-advanced missiles and survive with the only side effect of an aching body.

Oh, and it gave them enough force to break walls of super-reinforced metal/minerals with their bare fists. All a normal and really low standard in their weird home universe.

In this other kind of weird universe, however, it was in a totally otherworldly level.

So, no matter how strong Karasuba was, it would had taken her more than a blow to penetrate the field with a simple katana, even one made of Sekirei alloy, but she would had made it eventually.

That's, under normal circumstances. Like, before Shirou, already protected with an aura that make him immune to every mundane thing in his planet, and a good part of low-level supernatural things too, had _Reinforced_ himself.

When he had used reinforcement, the Magus had forgotten to think that the clothes, uniform, that he was reinforcing along with his own body, were part of the ring. The ring whose highly advanced A.I. had detected an unknown magic-based energy coursing through the body of his owner, and augmenting his overall human capabilities. A body that it was practically a part of now, physical and mentally.

And so, it had done what any good A.I would do: Correct all the little mistakes that his owner made in the strange process, like only the most advanced super computer in the universe who suddenly had access to this Earth's Magic could.

That was the reason why Shirou was suddenly, like he was realizing just now, reinforced to a level that would have made Archer weep of envy, and made the enhancement that Caster used in Kuzuki to allow him to beat the crap out of a Servant look like a kindergarten kid's art homework. On top of the aforementioned Aura Ring.

Hence, Karasuba trying to keep the stars out of her head, like a bird that had crashed against a window, while he had only feel a little push in his arm.

The expression in Shirou's face when the ring, in a much more resumed version, explained this to him could only be described like: $ %&?!

More or less.

"What the fucking hell are you made of?!" roared the grey-haired alien while launching herself towards him, grabbing her weapon with one hand and aiming another slash at his neck.

Still, Divine-like reinforcement or not, the new Green Lantern wasn't gonna take any of that without moving again… no matter how awesome-looking his child-self told him it would look.

And so, he concentrated, calling a sword from his inner world into reality, moving his arm in a position that surely confused Karasuba, seeing as he was grasping a blade that still wasn't there, and…

CLANK! SLASH! PAF!

…cutting through the shocked woman's sword like it was butter, with enough force to make her eat the ground again?!

"What in…the world…" Shirou cut himself from his exclamation of surprise when his eyes landed on the blade in his hand.

It was Durandal, he had called one that wasn't Kanshou or Bakuya without thinking, but the truly interesting part was the color.

It was shining in emerald.

All of the sword normal colors had changed to distinct shades of green, even if it was still made of metal and not solid light…and it was perfect.

Like in, a perfect copy all the way to the tiniest material and the simplest memory, without the normal one Rank reduction that his copies should suffer from the strain of Gaia upon them.

In an attempt to understand how in the ORT's name was that possible, his mind replayed the 7 steps he had used to call for the blade, the ones that were one of the bases of his unique Magecraft.

_Judging the concept of creation._

_Hypothesizing the basic structure._

_Duplicating the composition material._

_Imitating the skill of its making._

_Sympathizing with the experience of its growth._

_Reproducing the accumulated years._

_Excelling every manufacturing process…_

_**Will-powering the finished construct.**_

…wait, what?

"…ring…did you just…upgrade my Tracing, like with the Reinforcement?" asked the Ashikabi of the North while feeling light-headed.

"_If you're referring at how I just modified the strange process that you used to take that sword from this strange pseudo-pocket dimension inside you, then yes, I did that."_ Answered the ring (From inside his helmet, so no one else could hear it), shocking Shirou even more. The ring could access his Reality Marble?!_ "Honestly, Lantern Emiya, this *Magecraft* of yours is quite amazing. Thanks to the concentration that you put in it, you subconsciously active your willpower, and by letting it flow through this strange *Circuits* of yours, it let me enhance the final result. Are you satisfied by it?"_

Satisfied…? Shirou didn't exactly know how to feel at the moment. On the one hand, it not only looked that he had underestimated the power and abilities of the ring, but he also hadn't even thought about what would happen when a Magus of this world would use it. Clearly, the results of that were showing themselves. On the other hand, his Magecraft was being enhanced by the Green Light of Willpower, perhaps because they were compatible, perhaps because the ring had deemed if would improve his efficiency as a member of the Corps…

The vortex of questions and thoughts that plagued his mind was interrupted when Karasuba grunted from behind him, making him tense and turns towards her again. Damn, how could he almost forget that she was here…? Wait a minute, why hadn't she stood up before?

Ignorant of his predicament, the Sekirei Number 004 was busy staring at her broken nodachi with shocked eyes. It wasn't just that her weapon was broken that left her like that, no, it was something more…something strange and unpleasant that she had never feel.

She had attacked him like she did to anything else. He had stood and batted her aside with one arm.

She had tried to behead him like an angry wraith. He had made a sword appear out of thin air and destroyed her blade.

What was this feeling…that made her feels so tiny? This feeling of having all that you tried to do proved useless…?

She raised her eyes again… only to freeze.

He had raised his hands, dismissing the blade already in them in a shower of brilliant dust…and a myriad of emerald death was suddenly being pointed towards her.

Dozens… no, hundreds of swords, of all types, every one of them different of the other, all shining in a vibrant green aura, floating just above the Green Lantern, all awaiting just the barest command of their master to rain upon her.

Her body automatically tensed, battle instincts kicking in as she raised her weapon, prepared to counterattack… until her gaze landed in her broken sword.

In that instant, every muscle in her body froze as she kept staring to the weapon that had been cut like but like butter. If all those blades where like the one that had done that…

BADUMP.

There it was again, that strange feeling that…

Six swords were launched like meteors all around her, imbedding themselves in the road with enough force to go hilt-deep.

"Wha…?"

"It's over, Karasuba. Surrender and get out of here." declared the Lantern, ignoring the cries of his Ashura-self telling him to not be an idiot and finish the Sekirei right there.

Internally, he was once again shocked by how even the mundane blades of his armory had been brutally upgraded, and how the speed of his Blade-Launching had doubled at least…

He DEFINITIVILY need to talk with the ring about everything that they could discover about this 'Will-Magecraft' fusion.

Meanwhile, the still shocked Black Sekirei eyes landed upon one of the blades, showing her reflection. And she finally saw it.

That look… that look in her face. It was something that she knew… something that she had seen countless times, always in the face of every poor stupid being, human or Sekirei, that stood in her path.

The look of an ant in front an elephant. The look of an insignificant being in front of an apex predator.

A look that she never dreamed could appear in her face, but she always put in others faces.

Was this…Fear?

A burning and unprecedented fury surged through her body at that thought. How dare he…? How dared this damn man to make her feel like this?! She was the one who would see this worthless world burn! She was the one who instilled fear in the others! And still, this man…!

"DON'T YOU DARE TO LOOK DOWN ON ME, HUMAAAN!" roared Karasuba, launching herself forward with more strength and determination that she had never used, not even in the times of the original Disciplinary Squad.

After all, wasn't there an old saying about the preys showing their fangs with more fury when totally cornered?

Only 20 meters separated them. She was going to kill him. She was going to tear that stupid helmet out of his body, with his head still inside.

A blade launched itself towards her; she swung brutally and redirected it out of her way.

Only 10 meters.

Another blade came, she swung, but this time the broken nodachi fell from her hand, almost dislocating it.

Only 5 meters…

A third blade tried to impale her, but she poured even more strength in her legs and dodged it at the last second, a bleeding line along her right arm being the only price she paid for it.

She was upon him. The Ashen Crow jumped…

And stopped cold in the air when a giant and green robot-like fist crashed against her, the animal fury in her face being replaced by shock and utter disbelief while staring in the uncaring deeps of the man…no, The Emerald Blade's helmet, and then to his right arm, who was covered in the strange solid light that was hitting her…

That was as far as her thoughts went before the instant ended and the physic laws took over again, her body being catapulted through the air like a ragdoll that had been hit by a speeding truck, passing over the nearby buildings and disappearing out of sight, like a rock launched over a wall.

Shirou (Who, by the way, didn't had an uncaring expression of superiority or confidence behind his helmet, but one of absolute surprise) had to actually be totally still for a few seconds before dispelling the arm-construct and blinking, trying to understand what had just happened.

And then, it hit him.

"Did I just… kick Karasuba's ass without effort?" he muttered with incredulity, not even registering his odd, for him, choice of words.

"_Unless all the data that I read from MBI was wrong and that wasn't the Sekirei Number 004, then yeah, you did, Lantern Emiya." _answered his so ever helpful ring.

While the chaos field that the Magus mind had become tried to fully grasp the concept of what he had done, and all that it implied for the future, the sounds of nearing helicopters snapped him out of his stillness.

"_It looks like the forces of MBI might have detected the ruckus caused by the battle. Should we retire or do you want to see the looks on their faces while you deconstruct their machines into every single little piece that made them while in the air? Accord to my records, quite a few Lanterns like to do that."_

"…le-let's just go back, ring." voiced the tired young man, a part of his mind archiving that little extra info about disassembling things in movement. "Did you erase anything that showed us…?"

"Since the moment you transformed, Lantern Emiya."

"Thanks." muttered the Magus before shooting to the air and disappearing like a shooting star of emerald light, so fast that even the helicopters of MBI that were nearing could only see a shining green flash.

And the broken street fell silent.

* * *

The day of Takami was getting better by the moment.

And yes, that was sarcasm directly out of her frenetic thoughts.

First, she had to actually calm herself to not hit Natsuo while berating him for letting those 3 (Specifically, Karasuba.) go out to who knows where. Then, she had tried regain her bearings by accompanied him to the entrance of the company, where he would grab a car to search for them while she went for another extra hard coffee to the nearby Café.

And that was when a crying Benitsubasa had crashed from the sky just in front of the building, cracking the street with the force of the impact.

After recovering from their shock, she and Natsuo had run to the crater, she already expecting to see the poor and annoying girl in a Level 4 Termination or worse, considering the size of the hole, while her mind raced in thinking what Sekirei could had done that…and then stopping suddenly at seeing how she was still conscious and moaning in pain, enveloped in some sort of green and shining cotton ball, that had saved her from more than some broken bones, and that proceeded to disappear in the air like it had never existed.

Her mind was still trying to digest that impossibility, while Natsuo ran to the side of her Sekirei to try and help her, when the crying alien had suddenly latched herself to the leg of the now exasperated Ashikabi, shouting things about a crazy man with a magic ring that shot green light.

It had taken almost five minutes to calm her, and Takami was still trying to get a coherent answer out of her that didn't include some sort of flying Kamen Rider when an out of breath Haihane had arrived and sighed in relief at seeing the scene.

"Thanks… god… I thought for sure that… you were death." declared the clawed Sekirei with a smile.

"Augh, thanks for, agh, preoccupying so much, argh, for me!" growled Benitsubasa with a tear-filled face, her continuous moans of pain ruining her intent to look angry. "Natsuoo…it huuurts… please embrace me and make the pain go away…!"

"I think a medic team would be much do you much more good, Benitsubasa." sighed the man while still trying to free himself from the girl and go bring help for her. Honestly, he liked the Sekirei, but couldn't she get that he wasn't interested?

"Haihane, can you please tell me what the hell happened?" questioned Takami while nearing the clawed girl.

"That guy with the strange green ring launched her flying, and I… "

"Oh please, not you too! Do you really expect me to believe that a flying man dressed as a super-hero for kids rip-off appeared out of nowhere and disabled a Sekirei with some sort of super powers?!" that her son apparently could do the same with a pair of swords and self-injuring himself was already bad enough, she didn't had the time or patience for jokes right now "That's the most stupid thing that I have ever…!"

Whatever else she was gonna said was interrupted when another body passed flying over them at terrible speeds and crashed brutally against the front door of the company, destroying it and making a lot of the workers freak out.

"…was that…?" started Natsuo, who had clearly seen the woman before the crash, his wide eyes still fixed of the destruction.

"I-i-impossible! It can't be!" shouted Benitsubasa while gripping his leg tighter out of fear.

Haihane also looked her share of terrified, and was looking towards the air around them, as if expecting someone to came flying to kill them in the spot.

Takami ignored them while her body moved almost in auto-pilot and carried her around the debris and chaos that the second impact had caused, her eyes stopping when she finally arrived in front of the, surprisingly, still conscious and injured Sekirei, who had her eyes closed and her teeth clenched, probably because of the bleeding cuts that covered her ruined outfit and her clearly broken right arm.

Considering the force of the impact and that she didn't had any protection like Benitsubasa, it was a miracle that she wasn't worst, but then again, she wasn't like the other Sekirei.

"Karasuba…?" started Takami, but her words died in her mouth and she subconsciously took a step back from the other gray-haired woman when she opened her eyes and looked towards her.

It was a look of pure and absolute loathing, not hate, but an absolute desire to make someone to beg for forgiveness at her feet while she slowly ripped it apart, the ferocious look of an animal who wanted to make another bigger than itself to FEAR him.

And even if it wasn't directed at her, it was such a strong and pure emotion that for the first time the scientist found herself truly afraid of the Black Sekirei.

"I…am going to kill him…" declared Karasuba while slowly pushing her broken body up "Slow…and painfully…but not before…making him wish to never have been born…" she growled while supporting herself against a wall "Do you hear me…? The Emerald Blade…will die…"

And while the woman continued to limp away from her, Takami found herself feeling that she didn't needed a coffee anymore.

A couple of painkillers and a lot of smoking sounded much better to her currently fucked up mind.

Yeah, now definitively the day couldn't get any worse.

* * *

"Oh great, someone just tempted destiny." muttered Zelretch while facepalming. "Also, what I'm not surprised that was his mother who did it? Hmm…maybe I truly do enjoy seeing the multiples possibilities of the boy a little too much…Nah." the Sorcerer suddenly raised his head towards the sky "Oh… so that's how is gonna be, uh?"

* * *

Up, in the Earth's orbit, it searched…

"_Emotional discharge detected."_

And up in the orbit, it had **FOUND**.

"_Analyzing possible bearer… Analysis Complete. Suitable bearer found. Initializing recruitment process…"_

And like that, a shooting star began to fall towards Shin Tokyo.

The Spectrum demanded Balance. It was time for another light to start shining…

And somewhere within the Multiverse, the Root of Akasha laughed.

**Chapter End**

* * *

Ok… I'm not sure if those last lines sounded ominous or very silly, but meh. I hope that all of you who took the time to read this enjoyed it OwO I hope the results of my investigation start showing in.

Yeah, I have been investigating IN DEEP all that have to do with the rings, Corps, the Emotional Spectrum and all that entails to make sure I don't make any horrifically mistake when writing the hardest parts, fusing the mechanics of the different universes O,O

And now that I'm at it, let me give a sincere congratulation to Grabriel Blessing-sama and to every author in the entire site that have ever wrote about two different universes and combined their mechanics in a Crossover in a form that makes SENSE, it's really difficult, more for then that will ever be for me, because you see, I have the advantage that the rings can, essentially, do anything, which makes it MUCH easier fit them in any place, even in a world with the mechanics so fucking complicated like the Nasuverse XP

So yes, all that happened in this chapter? It's totally possible and not an exaggeration of my part, so sorry to any Sekirei or Karasuba fans that thought that I was bashing them, I wasn't, in fact I'm a great Karasuba's fan. The sad true is, that even a normal-guy Green Lantern could probably defeat even the stronger Sekirei (Of course, it wouldn't be an easy fight), maybe not Miya but they could certainly scape of her without any injury effortlessly at the very least. And that's about a newbie, because someone with experience enough could, say, create an absolute void around anyone and just watch how they die without oxygen, or by the pressure ripping them apart. And that it's about someone NORMAL, In Flight!Shirou, who not only has his kick-ass magic but has also been some years hunting with the Enforcers, its simply said, a terrible brutal force once equipped with a Lantern Ring, and when he regain her bearings and start comprehending the true deeps of his new powers…well, let's said that the first one to freak out more would be him… and I just realized that at this pace I'm going to need to make a Servant Sheet-like list of all the things that the ring will upgrade about his Magecraft (That wasn't an invention either, it had been shown that, in people with supernatural abilities, the rings can easily enhance said powers, and I'm talking about shit that "Raise your hand and a beam is shot because of yes" Can you imagine how could that work in a world like the Nasuverse, where the Magic works by hard fucking works and impossible investigations that take hundreds of years…and that the rings can make in fucking seconds? Plus, its true too that the rings, can perceive and monitorize the internal energies of their bearers, so when you get those two things together in Shirou and you add a little of the liberties of "Doing anything"…yeah, the Nasuverse is fucked. But because of Shirou, or…?).

Well, I think that's all…but don't worry Karasuba fans or those that thought that Shirou should have killed her when he had her cornered (I don't like him thinking like that, BTW), that's SURELY going to come back to bite him in the ass (Like pretty much anything that he does). After all….isn't the creation of their worst enemies almost always the Superhero's fault :3 ? I think that the last part should have been pretty obvious... Have a good day!


	5. Chapter 4: Ideals and Duty-True Hero

So, here it's. This is the longest and latest chapter I have made of the Emerald Blade, so that's it for the daily updates, sadly. But don't worry, after my final exams end next week I should be able to start a weekly update more or less, after all my summer vacation have to be of some profit XP

Also, a couple of warnings beforehand, those who are fans of the coldest and merciless side of Shirou that's showed in In Flight like when he values more the Jinki over Yukari or things like that, you probably won't like this chapter. Or maybe yes, who knows? I only will say that it has quite a lot of self-reflection for Shirou's part, but it also has a little dose of funny and cute parts, I think :3 AND, it you have good eyes, you will see a little foreshadowing there and here, he...now lets go with the fic!

PD: I can't belive it...someone added this story to a community O_O Maybe is a random and non-specific one, and maybe for a lot of authors that's normal, but for me is...woah...

* * *

**Chapter 4: My Ideals-My Duty. I'm the Green Lantern of Sector 2814!** or _"Just what this universe needed, a super powered idiot with a hero complex"_

You can't save everyone.

Those were the words that his father, the only person he would ever call that, had told him once.

He hadn't understood them. How could he? He was only a child back then, and in his distorted mind those words and their meaning had no place.

And then, that fatidic day so many years ago, the last night of Emiya Kiritsugu on this world, he had told him about the dream that he once held close in his heart.

To be a Superhero. An Ally of Justice. Someone who would save everyone, bringing happiness and smiles to the people who needed them, fighting against the evil of the world.

He had said that, upon becoming an adult, he had given up on the dream, saying an excuse about being too old, when the truth was that, after all the deception and suffering in his life, he could no longer believe in it.

And Shirou had told him that he would do it in his place. He would inherit his dreams and ideals, those that, without his knowledge, had already been defining who he would become.

He had seen his father die with a smile on his face.

And after all that, the Grail War had come. His battle with Archer and the horrible truth, the supposed path of self-damnation to where those same ideals would lead him.

He had rejected that 'truth'. He had fought against EMIYA and won, swearing that he would never became like him, that he would never let go of his ideals. He had fought against Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, the strongest Heroic Spirit, and had won once again, using the world that those ideals and his distorted mind had given him, plus the help of one of the women that he would came to love.

He had been happy, thinking that, after that, there would never be anything that could make him doubt about his chosen path in life again. And once again, he had sworn.

"I will save everyone."

Because in the end, there was nothing wrong with wanting to help people.

But the world had showed him otherwise.

After going to the Clock Tower with Rin and Saber, after witnessing what some of the Magus there did in a daily basis without anything stopping them, after countless missions with the Enforcers where he had tried to help as many as he could… the truth of the words that his father has told him finally hit him.

It truly was impossible to save everyone? Yes, that was the conclusion as to what he had arrived. He had accepted it, and even if he didn't let go of his ideals, a part of him died when he was forced to accept that.

He still would pull himself in danger trying to help others, but not with the carelessness of back them. He would no longer believe that you could find goodness in the world if you looked a little more carefully.

He would no longer believe that he could save, truly save, all those who needed it.

He wasn't a God, and he truly doubted that even those beings of a long lost age could do it, not that any would have ever tried.

He still pursued an impossible ideal… but now, unlike the determined boy who defeated the red-clad Counter Guardian, there was a part of him that accepted that it was truly impossible.

And he had no longer held any belief that it was even remotely possible.

Yes, he had accepted that true for a long time now, so then why…?

_"Do you like the view, Lantern Emiya?"_

"…i-it…it's beautiful, ring."

…why there was now, while contemplating the vastness of Gaia in all her glory, a part of him that wanted to believe again in the purest form of his impossible ideal?

Uh, this probably was the most extreme form of the phrase 'Putting things in perspective'.

After his… 'battle' against Karasuba, with his mind still a torrent of chaos and incredulity upon seeing the true capabilities that he now had, he had asked his ring bring him somewhere where he could think undisturbed for a couple of minutes while he cleared his mind.

He wasn't expecting his ring to suddenly starting to make him go up. And up. And up…

The Magus had, at first, freaked up, the natural instincts of any human being, Magus or not, kicking in and producing terror at the constantly increasing altitude… and then, the fear had disappeared when the simple, obvious and sudden realization had reached his mind.

He wasn't falling. He was **Flying**.

Before, when he had needed speediness to protect her sister and Seo from Karasuba, he hadn't truly realized what he was doing. But now, in the limitless sky, passing through the clouds faster than any bird, free of the boundaries of gravity…

Well, no one could had really blamed Shirou for starting shouting things like _"Wohooo!"_ and making acrobatics in the air, never stopping going up.

For a moment, he had felt like a kid, a normal one, should felt in his birthday or some special day like that. The sensation of joy and liberty that flying brought…

Heh, Caster would have been green with envy if she had seen him, going higher and faster than even the greatest airplanes…

Also, a little part of his mind thought about how ironic it was that he had a flock of 'wagtails' but he now was the only one who could truly fly.

He was so lost in that sensation that he didn't notice the changes until the blue of the sky was replaced with eternal black… and thousands of shining little points.

The first Green Lantern of this universe stopped, confused for a moment, before noticing that he had actually STOPPED, so he turned around…

And saw it.

Gaia. The planet Earth. His planet, in all his blue glory.

His stunned mind actually needed a few more seconds to understand that he was in space, outside the atmosphere, and influence, of his world. And all the lights up there were stars.

He never had felt so little…and at the same time so big. It was…overwhelming.

_"A penny for your thoughts, Lantern Emiya?"_

"I-it's just… I'm probably the first Magus to ever see this… from up close and personal. And if the way the Association had gone since the beginning keeps going, I'm the only one who ever will…" Shirou really doubted that anyone from the Clock tower, or the Magi world in general, would try to became an astronaut "I… don't know how to feel… but I know it's beautiful. And so peaceful…" in a normal, even a Magus-Ashikabi normal, life, Emiya Shirou's mind would have never entertained these thoughts. But now… "Why did you bring me here, ring?"

_"To help you understand the scope of your new abilities…and duties. You accepted the ring, Emiya Shirou of the Earth, and with it the duty of every Green Lantern, no matter the place in the universe… or Multiverse, in this case, but I think you haven't understood them totally yet. My psychology functions tell me that I can't blame you for that, especially if the little that you had told me about your world is true. So I brought you here, to outer space, to make it clearer to you. Tell me, Lantern Emiya, what does this…?"_ green light signaled towards the Earth _"…means to you now?"_

"…" Emiya Shirou looked, and Saw.

He saw Japan, his homeland, so little that he could almost cover it with his hands.

He couldn't even see Shin Tokyo from up here.

He saw the planet divided in half by the light of the Sun (Currently somewhere behind him), the eternal division between day and night. He could see in less than a minute all the places in where he had been when he was with the Enforcers.

And, inevitably, his eyes landed in the island at the north of Europe. The country that was the hearth of the Magus Association… and the land where he had left the two first women he had ever loved behind.

Rin and Saber… thinking about them now, from this perspective… he didn't really know what to feel. He had had to escape, to leave them behind for the better. Their lives would have ended if they had come with him, there was no other way… but what about now?

He could probably fly towards England in seconds, nobody would be able to notice him if he concentrated enough and used the ring right, he could probably even bypass any Bounded Field in the world. He could go and just see them for a moment and…

No. The red-haired man shook his head. No, he couldn't start having thoughts like that. Even if he COULD do it, that didn't mean he had the RIGHT to do it. It didn't matter that he had now the power for, let's say, start shooting Broken Phantasms from orbit against any target that he wanted and…

"Oh."

_"Do you understand, now? What it means to be a Green Lantern, the 'only' Green Lantern here?"_

"Oh god… this is… it's too much, TOO much ring, and I had fought face to face with a man who had a weapon that could unmade the entire world. But this… this is in another level…" with these powers, not even Alaya itself could touch him. Even if the Consciousness of humanity sent her Counter Guardians against him, he could easily fly away outside the planet, hell, towards the other side of the Solar System if he wished, and all the efforts of one of the greatest forces of the world would be useless. And there was a universe with thousands of beings with these powers…? "How do they do it, ring? How can these Guardians entrust so much power to so many people and expect things to go right?"

_"I will accept that maybe the fact that the universe in general, and Earth specifically, has so many super-powered beings to keep everything more balanced make things easier. But more than that, even if sometimes there ARE some Lanterns that lost the north, the rings are made to only choose someone truly worthy to become a part of the Corps. And the person with the greatest Will, the ability to overcome great fear for the sake of the innocents, that I found was you, Emiya Shirou. So, tell me, will you ever use these powers with the intention of self-benefit or against the safety of others?_

"Never." answered the Magus immediately. Yes, there was no way in any part of him. The purpose of the ring and his own distorted nature were practically the same. Even if using it for that purpose was against the "common sense" he had gained in those last years, his answer to that question would always be the same. "I…I accept the duty that comes with wielding this power, ring, and I will never stray from this path. I will use it only for the best of others, not for mine."

_"Then, even if it's only a formality, I hereby name you Green Lantern of the Space Sector 2814, protector of everyone in this part of the Universe."_ at Shirou quizzical look the ring metaphorically shrugged _"What? Maybe is another universe but I'm willing to bet that the Universal Division is still the same. And by the way, you have been more than 40 minutes up here."_

"Oh, yeah, thanks for…WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! Everyone is gonna get crazy!" exaggerated worst-case scenarios of what his Sekirei would do if they thought that he had disappeared while in the possession of an alien ring passed through his head. He didn't like them, especially those with Matsu or Homura directing the others "Quick, back to Shin Tokyo, at max speed, now!"

_"I think it would be a good practice if I let you fly us back, Lantern Emiya."_ declared his ever-helpful tool, making Shirou groan and start heading back to Japan… but not before looking back one last time towards England.

He couldn't see his girl… ex-girlfriends again; he had already accepted that when he ran away from the Association. But now, with these powers, and when the time was right…

Heh, well, he could always have hope, right?

And while the Emerald Blade headed back towards the Earth, starting a little discussion about his abilities with his ring, he never noticed the shining little light that emerged from behind an old satellite.

Not how it 'looked' towards the same direction where he had been doing.

_"Hope."_

And so, a shooting star of light headed towards the old kingdom of the King of Knights…

* * *

Coming back home (He really was starting to truly think of the Izumo Inn like that, didn't he?) wasn't as bad as he had expected.

It was worse. But at least not of the kind 'end-of-Shin-Tokyo-worse' that his chaotic mind had thought.

First there were the almost-suffocating hugs and cries of preoccupation from most of his Sekirei (Even Akitsu, but she didn't said anything.), that was expected, and the tsundere-preoccupation and curses of the others, which too was expected. Even the preoccupied chastising of Miya and the humorless jokes of Uzume weren't a surprise, so he had thought that everything was going to be alright.

Then, he had told then that he had been lost in thought floating in the orbit.

The half-disbelief, half-incomprehension (Or in Homura's case, more cursing.) hadn't finished to assert itself in his pseudo-family when his beloved ring had mentioned that he had only do that after 'beating the crap out' of the Sekirei Number 004.

Even Miya had frozen in place (And dropped a tray of tea cups) when THAT reached their brains.

The next minutes became almost an interrogation directed by the ex-members of the original Disciplinary Squad, while they demanded to know HOW he had supposedly done that and came out unscratched, with Musubi's shouts of amazement of how amazing her Ashikabi was and Homura's new attempts of bang her head against the wall for the foolishness of said Ashikabi sounding in the back.

They said that an image is worthier than a thousand words. Apparently, in the ring opinion, a projection of what had happened in 3D green-light-projection was even worthier, with sound effects of the furious Karasuba included.

There was a stunned (Or amazed in some cases) silence in the living room of the Inn after the little projection ended.

"Hello? Everyone?" tried Shirou after the silence became unbearable. He wasn't sure if there were having a shock trauma (Or emotion trauma, in Musubi's and Kusano's case) but he was sure that no one should be that silent, aliens or not "…Miya? You still here?"

"… I... I'm feeling very conflicted right now, Emiya-kun." Muttered the strongest Sekirei, an uncertainty that she had never feel in her life reflected in her face "On the one hand, I think I should reprimand you for doing things so foolish while using abilities that you didn't totally understand and preoccupying your Sekirei, specially Homura and Akitsu. On the other hand... I'm trying to suppress this strange and… a little unpleasant need of hugging and congratulate you for giving that woman what she deserved." She admitted while looking to the side, a speck of pink present in her face.

"… okaaay… ehm, moving on…"

"You really did use the fusion of the energy of an alien ring and your magic powers to defeat the Black Sekirei as if it were nothing…" muttered Homura with a smile.

"… Homura, stop smiling, please. You're scaring me…" and Kuu too, if the form in which she was slowly distancing herself of the fire user was anything to go by.

"Why would I need to stop smiling, Shirou? Everything is perfectly right; I have the most awesome Ashikabi ever! Why, he even can even fuck the logics and laws that rule over reality to make even the most absurd and impossible things to be…!" a torrent of water crashing to his face interrupted the fire user, knocking him out and making him crash against the wall.

Everyone turned to look towards Tsukiumi.

"What?! He was cursing in front of Kuu, I had to do it!" no way was the tsundere admitting that the old Guardian of the Sekirei had started to scare her a little too.

"You know, I think we should start to seriously consider getting Homura-tan some specialized help. I think all those things happening lately had taken their toll in his mind"

"Ah. I'm worried about Homura." expressed Akitsu, gaining a raised eyebrow from Shirou.

After all, if even she believed that there was something wrong with the fire user, then maybe they were right…

The sound of the door being frenetically knocked interrupted the redhead train of thoughts. Was it his imagination or that was happening a lot lately?

"Uh, were we expecting urgent visitors?" questioned Shirou, receiving blank or confused stares as response. Sighing, the Ashikabi got up and started heading towards the door. At least it wasn't someone who wanted to kill them, his Geas hadn't activated… "Who would come with such a frantic hurry?"

_"Lantern Emiya, I suggest you put me away in your pocket, like, right now."_ commented the ring, making the Magus look at it confused while doing so, almost at the same time when he got to the door.

"Any particular reason for wanting tha…?" Shirou got his answer right to his face when a certain human rocket, that the destiny had jokingly declared was related to him, hugged/crashed against him.

It was only a testament of how much set he was in avoiding being a stereotype that he didn't fall to the floor flat on his back. He only stumbled back and flailed his arms around like a headless chicken to regain balance.

"Onii-chanyouarenotgonnabelieveitwewerejustsavedbyarealSuperhero!" were the rushing words that came out of Yukari's mouth, a little disappointed that her brother hadn't fallen from her super-imouto hug. Again.

"Mistress, please, calm yourself…" whined Shiina a little pathetically.

"You know, after all the crap that I have gone through this morning I'm tempted to just burst out laughing after seeing that." commented Seo while he and his Sekirei came on view "Oh, to hell, I need some laughs. Mwhahaha…!"

"Don't mind him. He had been like that since we escaped from… well, it's a long story." admitted Shiina with a sigh while the rest of the confused Inn residents appeared in the hallway.

_"And that, Lantern Emiya, is my reason"_ declared the ring's voice in Shirou's, who had finally stopped imitating a headless bird, head.

…seriously, was it him or his ring was gaining a really annoying sense of humor?

* * *

"This is starting to get ridiculous." muttered Takami while rubbing the tip of her nose "Even more."

It had been three days since the 'Emerald Incident' (That was how everyone around was stupidly calling it) and things were really messed up.

The Disciplinary Squad was temporary out of order, and somehow word had got around that it was the work of a mysterious character with strange green-themed superpowers (And why did she feel the urge of calling her daughter when she thought about that?), making chaos and rumors start to spread around Shin Tokyo like the plague… and that was without taking in the state in which the members of the squad themselves were.

Karasuba wouldn't talk to anyone since her wounds finished healing, and would only come out of her room to eat or train. Whoever that man was, strange abilities or not, she was really starting to pity him. She had never seen the Black Sekirei so OBSESSIVE with anything, not even her son, thankfully.

Even with treatment of MBI level, with all the little different fractures in her legs Benitsubasa would still be out of duty for at least a week and that was without counting the ones in her arms and hips.

Poor Natsuo had been forced to help her go from one place to another, much to the happiness of the Sekirei.

Haihane was truly the only member of the team that would actually answer to any call of duty, and she still seemed unable to stop looking around the sky and almost jumping at the sight of anything remotely green colored.

But the top of the cake was that imbecile of Minaka, who would now keep shutting himself in his office or going around giving order to that poor ex-technician of Mamoru, who now had the privilege (coughcursecough) of being his personal secretary or something like that. He was totally ignoring the alarming facts like that there was NOTHING about the battle or the mysterious man himself except the damage made to the street where all had happened.

How in the fucking Hell was possible that ALL the cameras of the zone had caught NOTHING? Like, nothing ever really happened that day to any image-capturing dispositive, there was no data of the entire day, and NONE of the cameras in the entire city had anything.

Damn, not even the Satellite showed anything unusual in shin Tokyo's sky that day! Which was against the rumors of various eyewitnesses of the surrounding area, who swore had seen a green flash disappear towards the sky at that time. How could any man had done that… and not leaving ANY clue of how he had done it? It was as if the cameras themselves had deleted the information by their own volition! Hell, even when Matsu tried to hack in their database they could notice it if she did it too much or did something too big, but as far as the computers were concerned, nothing strange had happened in the systems.

And that stupid bastard of Minaka still wouldn't do anything. Gods, he had even continued with his sick and fucking 'Game' that was the Sekirei plan, and the next of the 'matches' had ended not long ago. In fact, she was busy now filling out the paperwork of all that had resulted of it, and frankly speaking she was feeling like shit. She probably hadn't had any decent sleep since forever and…

Something strange shined behind her, illuminating the hallway with a strange golden light.

Takami turned around, fast, ready to defend herself… but there wasn't anything unusual and nothing was shining in the hallway behind her.

Wait a moment. Was it her imagination or had she caught sight of a feeble light from around that corner…?

"I really need to get more sleep." she muttered, shaking her head and deciding that no matter what shining hallucinations she may have, she wasn't going to go towards Karasuba's room to follow them. "Maybe I should really throw everything to hell and get a vacation…" Pfft, yeah, right. She? Vacations? Come on! "At least this damn day can't get any worse…"

"Miss Takami!" the shout of Mamoru's voice made her stop and look back again to see the agitated new secretary/pet of Minaka running towards her "We got a situation in that Hospital belonging to Higa! Three Sekirei are out… and it looks like it was that Emerald guy!"

_"…I really should stop tempting the fucking destiny"_ bitterly thought the scientific while sighing.

* * *

Shirou should have expected this. He really should have.

Everything had been going almost perfectly fine so far, if you didn't count the strange and hyperactive mood that her sister seemed to have gained since she and the others were 'saved' by The Emerald Blade, and her disturbing admiration (borderline obsession) with Shirou's new alter ego. They stayed for dinner that night, and some of the overly exaggerated things that she said about the 'Awesome warrior in green' make Shirou wanted to facepalm repeatedly.

At least they managed to make Homura calm a little from her strange and creepy mood, even if it was only for cursing and facepalm herself.

After that (And receiving from her sister the solemn promise that she would find her new hero to help Shirou with his 'brainwashing'. For some reason, this make Seo cry and curse a little.), this last two days were very peaceful and fruitful.

He had managed to combine passing time with his Sekirei and experimenting more with what he could do with the ring, even if it was accorded by himself that he would no longer use it for sparring, not after the six time that he accidentally threw Musubi more than 20 meters in the air before catching her with a giant hand (On a side note, the fist Sekirei seemed to enjoy this, if her shouts of "Yipiii!" were any indication). He had managed to get down a little control of the physical laws and transference of energy (Even if she didn't said anything too expressive, Shirou was pretty sure Akitsu had enjoyed flying around the garden when he proved giving her a Flight Aura), but probably his earnest investigation had been about his own personal fusion of 'Will-Magecraft'.

He was sure that, with enough time, he could perfect the use of using his ring and his Magic Circuits together, and that would be a very valuable asset.

A part of him amusedly thought how most of the Magi in the world would rip their hearts out if they saw him doing with almost no effort things that would be impossible except with centuries of effort and difficult rituals.

It seemed that everything could only change for the better.

Which, obviously, had mean that it been far too long without the Root screwing with him, so he really should have expected it when Minaka suddenly announced the next 'match' of the Sekirei Plan (Though a part of his mind wondered why the unknown an unremarkable man at the CEO of MBI side looked like he hadn't sleep in days) .

He and the others had looked the battle taking place with mixed emotion, his ring stating how it was against many laws and protocols of the Universe to force activities like this for no real reason, like Minaka was doing, and that he, as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, should stop it immediately.

And it had been little time after that (While Tsukiumi argued with his ring about the morality of the Plan under the analyzing gaze of Miya) that a bloodied Uzume, clad in her 'Veiled Sekirei' dress and carrying a recently stolen Jinki, had returned to the Inn and begged for his help.

The more he heard of the truth about the situation about Uzume working for Higa and her Ashikabi's state (Which caused all levels of indignation in his Sekirei.), the angrier he felt.

"…and that's why I decided to do this. Shirou, I'm begging you, please, help me save my Chiho! I'm sure that with your crazy magic powers and your ring you can even heal her and…" Uzume didn't had time to continue talking, because a hand had suddenly been placed upon her head, silencing and surprising her and everyone else.

"… I'm sorry you felt you needed to do this before asking for my help." was all that a sad-smiling Shirou said before being enveloped by emerald light and shooting himself out of the window, literally, faster than lighting.

There were several seconds of silence while everyone tried to process what had just happened.

"…I think Emiya-kun just gave his answer to your plea, Uzume." declared Miya while recovering of the shock, looking straight at the busty brunette.

"U-uh…? He di-didn't even took a look at the Jinki before…?"

"Did you really think that you would need that to make Shirou help you with this?! Uzume, I thought you knew him better than that!" an angry Kazehana reprimanded her still shocked friend.

"So… wait a minute, did he just, like, went out flying to save Uzume's Ashikabi, alone and without even knowing where she is?" questioned Matsu when she recovered from the shock.

Another moment of shocked silence passed through everyone.

"Woah, Shirou-sama is the best!" exclaimed Musubi with happiness at knowing her Ashikabi was going to save Uzume's true love.

"…$%# ! Dammit, Shirou!" cursed Homura while standing up… before a ball of ice impacted against his face and make him fall back to the floor.

"Ah." muttered Akitsu when everyone turned to look at her "Don't curse in front of Kuu."

Meanwhile, the newest Green Lantern in this side of the Multiverse was flying over Shin Tokyo while a torrent of emotions raged inside his head.

How long had it been since Uzume knew he could use Avalon to heal others? More than that, hadn't it been almost 4 days since he demonstrated all the things he could do with the ring? And still, Uzume hadn't tied to ask him for help until she had a Jinki in her hands, and only because she knew how dangerous he had said they were and how he was gonna try to collect them all for security reasons.

Certainly, the Cloth Sekirei had been there when he explained his methods in his "Magus persona" when the initial half-truth about him was revealed, and later too when he had been forced to reveal everything after the Fraga's attack, but still…

Was that really the image he projected these days? One so cold that Uzume thought she still needed to do Higa's dirty work, get herself hurt and even steal a Jinki in a mad dash putting herself in risk before even trying to ask him to help her Ashikabi?

The Shirou from 4 days ago wouldn't had thought too much about it, probably even discarded the thought before starting planning how to rescue Chiho.

The old Shirou hadn't obtained a Green Power Ring of Will, and neither had flown towards Earth orbit to have a little time of self-reflection.

What had happened to the Shirou that no one would even doubt about asking help for even the littlest things?

_'It was discarded because it was unnecessary.'_

The cold answer that came from his Ashura-self surprised him, because of how true it was. After his arrival to the Clock Tower, the old Shirou that not even the Grail War and his fights with his future self and the King of Heroes had changed… had simple been forced to disappear, forced to abandon the most 'childish' aspect of his ideal, to adapt to the cruel truth of the world.

You can't save every…

'Yes, you can! You can at least keep trying to, no matter what!'

The last Emiya blinked, the tiny voice of his child-hero-self resounding in his head. It was very low, almost a whisper compared to the Ashura he had become…

But it was a start. A signal that his old belief in the purest form of his ideal still existed, revived thanks to the arrival of the ring and to seeing the things that it let him do.

Now, was that a good or a bad thing? Only time could tell… but for now, he would embrace that part. It was time to help someone who needed to be saved.

And unlike the naïve Shirou from the Holy Grail War, the Emerald Blade COULD launch himself towards a potentially dangerous situation without completely thinking things through….

"Ring, give me the Hospital location and the fastest way to get there."

_"Already done, Lantern Emiya. I have the girl room number and full name too. Chiho Hidaka. I'm showing the data you need in your helmet right now."_

…because he had the necessary tool.

"Good. And while we are at it, I want you to access the database of Higa's pharmaceutical company. There is something I need to do…"

* * *

Hidaka Chiho was one of the best examples of how the world was a really unfair place.

Chained to a hospital bed with a chronic disease, under a treatment that would only delay her slow and unavoidable dead, it was amazing how the young woman could still be such a happy and sweet person.

That was one of the things that Uzume loved the most of het Ashikabi.

Still, even if she was very kind, the sickly girl was very sharp. She knew that there was something bothering her beloved Uzume, no matter how much she smiled when visiting her and telling stories about her funny and happy housemates, and that worried her. More than once, she wondered if her dear Sekirei font of preoccupation was none other than herself…

Yeah, no matter how sweet and happy she was in the face of the problems, Chiho knew that life was unfair, that not everything in the world was the color of roses, but she accepted it with a sad smile. She was no longer a little girl who believed in fairy tales, princes charming or…

Suddenly, the lights in the room went off, making her blink in surprise.

"A blackout…?" muttered the sickly Ashikabi, more worried for the other patients than for herself, but a quick look towards the medical machines in the room make her see that something strange was happening "Only the lights are out? How is that even po…?"

Before being able to continue her monologue, the young women fell silent upon hearing strangled cries in the hallway and, after a few seconds of silence, two distinct voices, one deep and clearly male and the other strangely mechanical sounding.

_"Good job, Blade, those Sekirei didn't even saw us coming. It was a little sad, if I'm honest with you. Most aliens in my universe can at least last more than one hit when fighting against a Corps Member."_

"As exciting as that sounds, ring, I'm glad there wasn't any complications… and you know what? I think this is the first time in my life that I have thrown myself without thinking in a dangerous situation and NOTHING had gone wrong. If feels… good. Like, the greatest kind of good. Plus, I can't believe that Kochou was here of all places at this time. It has to be the major combination of good luck I have ever had!"

_"Yes, a productive night in every sense. Now you're the only one with a Sekirei able to gather information through 'advanced' hacking in the plan, even if having me already put you above those petty things. Now, are we gonna save the damsel in distress or not?"_

"…okay, seriously, what's up with your personality turning more and more like…? Argh, you know what? Just forget it."

Chiho's mouth and eyes opened wide when the door of her room suddenly turned green and started to shine, moments before it opened without effort and a man in shining emerald suit/armor entered her room.

Flying.

"Uhm… good night. You're Chiho, right?" asked the Green Lantern to the still gaping girl.

"Ah…eh…uh…yes? And you are?" answered the girl, much calmer that someone who had freaked out like that should.

"I'm the Emerald Blade. A Superhero." declared the man almost automatically, with a heroic-like tone… before sighing and dispelling his helmet, letting the surprised sickly girl to see a young and smiling red-haired face looking at her "But you can call me Shirou, Emiya Shirou. I'm a friend of Uzume. I have come to bring you to her… to bring you home."

"Shirou-san…?" muttered the surprised Chiho while looking towards the man that her Sekirei had talked her about multiple times. But she had never mentioned that he had superpowers. Of course, she could see in his eyes that he wasn't lying, judging and seeing through people being one of the things she could do the best "What do you mean with that? I-I can't go out of the hospital, I have a sickness that…"

"I know. But I can help you." Shirou cut her, making her eyes widen once again.

He knew he was taking a great risk when he dispelled his helmet, but he needed Chiho to trust him and to explain the situation quickly while the hospital staff tried to figure out why all the lights were out but none of the medical equipment was (He needed stealth, but he wasn't gonna put the lives of the any other patients in risk. Thankfully, the ring could easily redirect all the electrical current only going towards the illumination of the building.).

_"Lantern Emiya, if you still want to keep a 'low profile', I suggest we hurry before someone starts noticing the oddness in that the energy only flows one way of the electrical system."_ announced the ring, making Chiho look at it curiously and his owner to sigh.

"Look, we don't have much time, but I swear that I'm telling the truth. I can heal you, Chiho, I can make sure that you and Uzume are together and have a happy life like you deserve. Please, I need you to believe…"

"Okay. Let's go." declared the girl with a smile, making Shirou blink and look at her, surprised.

"Really? Just like that?"

"I know you are telling the truth, I can see it in your eyes. Besides, Uzume-chan had told me a lot of good things about you, and even if she didn't mention, if she even knows, about your… secret identity, I can tell that she consider you a good person. So I will believe in you."

"Wo-woah…thanks." muttered Shirou with a surprised look in his face. He had thought that it would take a lot more to convince the girl that he only wanted to help her… had he really lost that much faith in the goodwill of humanity?

He didn't even need to hear his Ashura talk to know the answer, so he only closed his eyes and re-materialized his helmet so that Chiho didn't saw his smile disappearing.

"So… how are we gonna get out? I'm sorry, but I can't really walk on my own…" Chiho's apologetic look made another smile to appear in the Magus face while he gently extended his armored gauntlet-hand towards her.

"Tell me, Chiho-san, have you ever thought what flying feels like?"

Two shining emerald lights flew through Shin Tokyo's sky, the littler of the two going in excited circles around the larger, tears of emotion and happiness falling from her eyes.

"Thi-this is… this feels… oh Kami, I have never feel so… free!" even if her voice was still very thin, Chiho's cry of happiness managed to echo through the night sky with great force "Shirou-san… thanks. Thank you very much…" she muttered while grabbing the Green Lantern's hand again, her smile growing bigger while her tears didn't stopped.

After all, how would you be if, after years of being sure you would never even walk again, suddenly could fly like a bird?

"No need… I'm only doing what is right. For Uzume and for you." declared the last Emiya, unknowingly making Chiho blush, that happiness that always filled him when bringing happiness to others filling him, accompanied with something more… "And I still have to heal you, so…" he raised his hand, hers still grabbing it tightly "Let's bring you home."

That night, while flying under the stars with the happy girl that, like a newborn butterfly, once again believed in heroes, Shirou took the decision that would change his life… and the world.

He was gonna do it. He was going to protect the world with his new powers, fulfilling his duty as a Green Lantern as well as his ideals, and even if everything that he had experienced those last years tried to prove it wrong, he was going to try and save everyone.

And there was only one form of declaring it.

"I'm Emiya Shirou. The Emerald Blade. Green Lantern of the Space Sector 2814. And I'm gonna save everyone… no matter what."

'Yeah, that's the spirit!'

_'You're making a great mistake, boy…'_

'Oh, shut up! You're just jealous because you know that under you he would have never said something so cool…'

…wait a minute, when did the figures in his imagination started being able to talk between themselves?!

'Uh? It's that weird?'

'_Ha, c'mon boy. You know your mind is so screwed in so many senses that it let you have a world on your own inside of you. And you are a Magus. And have an alien Harem. And now a talking super-ring.'_ the smile in the Ashura's three faces was strangely looking like Archer's _'How long do you thought it would take for you to start hearing voices in your head?'_

'Hey, now that's just you being mean…!'

…

…while another headache came his way, Shirou knew that, somewhere, a certain Counter Guardian was laughing at him.

* * *

"I will show him… to never look down at me… ever again…" growled Karasuba, while making another cut in the wall of her room with her new nodachi. Most of her room looked like a mess, except for her shrine to… er, I mean, her perfectly normal collection of things that Shirou had used to try to kill her "No matter what it takes… I will make him beg for forgiveness while crying in fright, and then…!"

The Black Sekirei ranting was interrupted when a sudden golden glow filled the room from behind her, making Karasuba spun around; her weapon ready to kill whatever it was that was…

All her thoughts stopped when she caught sight of the floating and shining yellow ring just a few meters in front of her. It looked like the one that emerald bastard had been wearing… only that the symbol and the feeling it gave were different.

Much more _sinister_, that is.

_"Karasuba of the Earth, you have the ability to instill great Fear…"_ the leader of the disciplinary squad raised her hand almost involuntarily, letting the ring put itself in her finger while a sense of 'completeness' filled her for the first time in her life _"Welcome,_ _to the_ **Sinestro Corps**_."_

Dark-golden light filled the room, enveloping her, at the same time that the image of a strange insect-like yellow creature appeared inside her eyes.

And if someone had passed by there, they would have hear what, probably, was one of the most disturbing things in the world.

Karasuba, laughing like a little girl in Christmas.

_And the Spectrum shined stronger…_

**Chapter End**

* * *

Only thing to said after writing/reading that last part? . Don't you agree? Also, I'm the only one who thinks Chiho is sweetly cute OwO?

Maybe they are just my thoughts, especially after being able to re-play some of my favorite parts of Unlimited Blade Works recently, but I like to think that, even though everyone prefers a not idiot or naïve Shirou, it was that determination and compromise that he showed with his beautiful and impossible ideal while fighting and beating the likes of Archer and Gilgamesh that make us truly appreciate the character that is, to my judgment, one of the most iconic of the Nasuverse, and I wanted to explore how In Flight!Shirou would react if he truly realized how much and how deeply he and the form in how others think of him when showing his Ashura's persona had changed in comparation to the young man that fight against the King of Heroes in equal grounds, and was winning.

Him obtaining the ring, surprisingly, made very easy and simple create a situation where he could truly consider it (How much awesome and re-evaluating should be being able to float upon the Earth while seeing it in all her glory?) while at the same time making him see how much heavy are her duties as a Green Lantern (I'm the only one perturbed that the idea of Shirou bombarding his enemies from outer space with Broken Phantasm looks awesomely cool to imagine?).

As a great man said,_ 'With great power comes great responsibility'_. Good thing that Shirou would never let a thief go past him without stopping him =P

Of course, no one who had changed his form of thinking and his way of life as much as In Flight!Shirou can suddenly go back to being a 'happy friend of justice' like that, (And he knows that against things like Gilgamesh or the Dead Apostles there is NO salvation) at least not without experiencing great mental problems.

Hence, the two little figurines in his head suddenly starting talking to him (Who said 'Deadpool reference' XD ?). Who thought they were only gonna be a recurring joke…? Okay, maybe they are, but they are truly gonna be a simple form of showing his inner conflict between his most merciless-self and his almost dead 'Iwannabeahero-child -elf'. That is gonna be something deep later in the story, especially when he is forced to choice what path to follow in a horrible situation.

Sadly, not everything can be Rule of Cool and Funny. Even Tengen Toppa Gurren Laggan needed a little of character development…

But that's enough with this deep stuff for now! As the ending had shown (And another part of the by the start of the chapter if you remember), the easy and happy things of Green Lantern Shirou are over. It's time for the shit and suffering that characterize his life start going with more force than ever! Expect great awesomess in the next chapters, when shit truly starts to get real as the Nasuverse experience battles in a scale that it had never seen before…

After all, no one is cool or powerful enough to be safe when two Lanterns clash. The Emotional Spectrum is only beginning to shine, and will do it in full force. The avatar of Fear has arrived! Expect Shirou to get to baddass levels that the limits he had In Flight didn't let him, and of course, his life complicated in the most stupidly funny ways =D.

So yeah, I hope you enjoyed this and that you would keep reading it, because after my exams, things will never be the same, and poor Minaka would understand that even evel Magus genious with and obscenely amount of money who pretend to be normal madmans like him can't over up a clash between ring bearear, YAY!

And for the most "experts" in Green Lantern lore, I think that the thing that appeared in Karasuba's eyes should be another obvious foreshadowing that there is something else going on with these rings that arrived to the Nasuverse...Have a good day!


	6. Chapter 5: Avatar of Fear!

Finally, after a long pause, here we are again with another chapter of The Emerald Blade =D And now that I'm in Summer holidays, expect the a weekly update rate to maintain itself (Except if anything too important don't let me). But now, it's time to get serious, because shit it'sgonna get real! Oh, and regarding some of the things that people is questioning, I don't want to make spoiler so for now I will leave it to your imagination what truly is going on with the rings, what is INSIDE them, and who will be chosen, but I assure you, NO ONE will expect some of them, I'm totally sure XP You just have to remember that 3 of the rings are 'parasitic lights' of the spectrum (Red, Orange and Indigo), meaning that, unlike the other 4, they don't need anyone 'naturally inclined' towards their emotion in the spectrum to choose as its wielder, just that he/she/it has to have a little of the emotion in them and they force the user into their spectrum, even if more of the emotion means more power, of course, so you can have a little surprise in there…so, I'm pretty sure that no one will be able to guess at least 3 of the ring-person pairs that are still left, even I myself can't still understand what crossed my mind when I chose them OwO

But now, let's see how Shirou deals with the greatest menace that he had ever faced! This first season, Lights of Emotion upon a Darkened World, continue NOW!

* * *

_No one can escape Fear._

_You can overcome the things that you fear._

_You can be the most powerful being in the world._

_You can be so great that you are considered a God._

_But Fear, True Fear, is something that you will never be able to escape from._

_For it forever exists, inside of us, around us, above us, everywhere._

_For it's more than a feeling, more than a sensation._

_It's a Light._

_And as long as the Multiverse exists, it will keep existing._

_For It is one of the Seven that form all of it…_

* * *

**Chapter 5: Avatar of Fear! Clash of The Emotional Spectrum!**or_"Wait, why didn't you tell me there were rings of other colors?!_

Takami was having a really bad feeling about this, but that could just be her irritation acting up.

After yesterday events in Higa's hospital, which resulted in 3 more Sekirei with Level 2 Terminations, the poor scientific had once again lost an entire night of sleep fixing the mess that was get the Sekirei out of the hospital and dealing with some of Higa's lackeys that had been a little 'unwilling' to let them do their job.

All in all, a pretty good night.

So, when a sudden call to Minaka's office arrived hardly 10 minutes after she had finally found time to rest his eyes a little,it was understandable that the grey-haired woman had a murderous look in her eyes while grabbing her cup of coffee a little too tight and having murderous thoughts directed towards the CEO of the company.

_"I swear, if he's calling to announce another stupid thing that he suddenly decided to add to this damn Plan of his, I'm gonna tell that bastard a thing of two about…"_Takami's train of thoughts was abruptly cut off when, upon arriving to the hall in front of Minaka's office, she found the object of her murderous intent standing just outside of it, a look of confusion in his face.

And he wasn't alone.

"Natsuo?Benitsubasa?Haihane? What are you all doing here?" questioned the confused woman before casting and annoyed glare at Minaka "And why the hell are you making all of us stand out of your office?"

"…so it wasn't you either, Takami-kun?" muttered the CEO with a raised eyebrow, earning a confused look from the scientific.

"What are you talking about?"

"All of us were summoned here, Takami." answered Natsuo with an uncertain voice"Even Minaka."

"Tha… that's impossible, the advice was sent by your own private code!" exclaimed the woman while looking towards her 'boss'.

"Yeah, I know. So, could you imagine my surprise when I saw an alert in my phone saying that it was sent by myself? Pretty intriguing…"

"Intriguing…? Are you even hearing yourself?!" shouted the woman with exasperation while looking towards the stupid futuristic-like doors of Minaka's office, which, now that she looked were tightly locked.

"Okay, this is starting to get ridiculous!" shouted Benitsubasa, who was being helped by Natsuo in a wheelchair that Takami knew she DIDN'T need to walk, even with her injuries. Poor Natsuo… "Are you telling me someone did all of this just to fuck our morning and…?!"

"The door… is opening…" muttered Haihane, surprising everyone when the unnecessarily dramatic doors that Minaka had installed in his office opened to the side, revealing his equally unnecessarily large office , desk and chair.

Said chair was currently facing the opposite direction of the door and moving slightly, revealing that someone was sitting in it.

"Ah, finally all the gang is reunited! Why don't you come in and all of us have a little talk?" a sinisterly cheerful and familiar voice announced, making everyone blink and enter the room almost involuntarily.

"… Karasuba? How the hell did you get in here… without breaking down the door?" questioned the shocked Takami, not noticing how Minaka's eyes narrowed slightly at her side "No, forget that, how did you sent the alert with this idiot's code?! And how did you activate the security lock of the office?!"

"My, aren't you a curious one today, Takami?" the Black Sekirei voice sounded strangely calm while she turned the chair around, the fake smile in her face looking more ominous than ever "Have you been having a bad couple of days, perhaps?"

"…Karasuba…are you alright…?" muttered Haihane, not knowing why she was having the ominous feeling that she should grab Natsuo and ran like hell out of the room while screaming.

She considered taking Benitsubasa too, of course. It wasn't as if she would ever just abandon her partner to die without a thought, she wasn't the kind of horrible and heartless person that would do that just for saving her own ass.

Yeah, right.

"Of course I'm okay!" answered the still smiling leader of the Disciplinary Squad while resting her elbows on the desk, letting Takami see that she was half-covering one of her hands with the other "In fact, I have never been better."

"… and what's that supposed to mean, Karasuba?" questioned Minaka, surprising the others in the room with the unusual seriousness in his voice.

All of them except for the smiling Black Sekirei.

"It means that Isuddenly know a lot of things, Minaka, things that, if you had asked me yesterday, I would have told you I didn't give a damn about. But now that I know them, well…" her hands separated, making the humans in the room blink and the Sekirei to suddenly freeze upon the sight of one of her fingers "A little knowledge don't hurt if it helps me to have even more fun, right?"

Yellow light shined in the room, and before anyone could understand what was happening, all of them were floating in the air, totally immobilized and surrounded by a yellow aura.

Coming from the sinister yellow ring in Karasuba's hand.

"Wha-what in the world…?!" cried Takami while trying to understand the situation.

"Woah, what's happening?! shoutedNatsuo while trying to break free.

Benitsubasa and Haihane hadn't bothered to said anything, they were too busy staring and gaping towards Karasuba and her ring in muted horror.

"That-that's… just like…!" Haihane's mind apparently couldn't totally process what she knew was happening.

"I-is like that Emerald's bastard ring!" screamed Benitsubasa, a look of pure horror distorting her face.

"Not at all, Beni-chan." smiled the Number 004 towards her 'comrade' "Mine is better."

"Ple-please, Karasuba, do-don't kill us! Kill them all if you want, but don't kill Natsuo or me!" pleaded the crying Red Sekirei, tears running from her face.

The looks that she received from everyone else as response were enough to shut her up.

"…what's the matter, Minaka? Trying to use something and seeing that you can't?" the smile in Karasuba's face turned even more feral upon seeing the shocked expression in the CEO's face "Don't bother, my ring told me that the building had a lot of 'Energy Distortions of Mystical Nature' and I spent the night testing how to use it by breaking them all 'discretely'. Imagine my surprise when the ring guided me here and found that all this 'distortions' were connected to this place. You have been fooling everyone for a long time, right, _normal human_?" fake-teased the grey-haired alien while looking upon the man's glasses.

"… what the hell is she talking about, Minaka?" if she wasn't hanging in open air by what seemed to be yellow light generated by a ring, Takami would have simple dismissed the Black Sekirei words as stupid babbling. But given the circumstances…"Mystical distortions?"

"… to think that it could break down all my Bounded Fields without even alerting me of what was happening or triggering any of them with its energy… that thing must be a really frightening item." once again, the humans and currently-floating-Sekirei in the room were surprised by the notorious change in Minaka's voice. They have never heard him sounding that cold and calculating, not even Takami. "I don't know from where it came from or how did you obtained it, but believe me when I told you that you're messing with things that you don't understand, Sekirei."

"On the contrary, _wizard_, you are the one who don't understand." snarled Karasuba, making everyone eyes widen, but it if it was from her outlandish announcement or for the fact that a yellow hole in the air had formed at her side out of nowhere was anyone's guess. "This power chose ME. And I know far more about it that you would ever understand."

_"Releasing Power Battery from pocket dimension."_ announced the mechanical voice of the ring while Karasuba raised her hand and grabbed the brilliant yellow lantern that emerged from the hole, her smile coming back more sinister than ever.

"Now let me show you the new self of the one that will reduce this world to ashes." declared the woman while raising her free hand and pointing her closed fist with the ring towards the lantern, her eyes never leaving the shocked/horrified faces of her floating prisoners… and let everyone heard the words that formed her new power.

_In Blackest Day, in Brightest Night;_

_Beware your fears made into Light._

_Let those who try to stop what's right,_

_Burn like my power, Karasuba's Might!_

Dark-golden light shined strongly between the ring and the battery, blinding everyone in the room and forcing them to close their eyes, Minaka's train of thought turning frenetic when he realized one thing.

He couldn't feel the strange energy emitting from Karasuba or the ring at all, even thought it was strong enough to be visible.

This wasn't Prana… but then what the hell was it?!

"Oh… holy cow…" muttered Haihane dumbly, making the Magus open his eyes and fixing his view in the no longer shining Black Sekirei…

Who wasn't entirely black anymore. Now she was mostly yellow… or dark-golden, if you prefer.

Her usual outfit from the original Disciplinary Squad had changed colors to yellow in the most part, except for the lower part of her skirt and coat, and had become tighter too. The strange and sinister symbol of her ring shined proudly in yellow inside a black circle just in the middle of her breasts, and a strange mask that looked like some kind of Japanese demon-bird covered the upper half of her mask.

Oh, and there was a black-yellow ribbon with the Corps symbol holding her ponytail now.

_"Power Levels at 100%"_

"Ah… much better." smiled the new Sinestro Corps member, her eyes taking delight in the look of horror of her fellow members of the Disciplinary Squad and in the shocked faces of the humans.

She had been glad to change out of those stupid yellow and black tights thatwerethat imbecile called Sinestro, the supposed leader of the Corps, idea of a standard uniform, and have passed a little time coming up with the 'new design'.

She didn't care about fashion, but if she was gonna,as _that thing_ inside the battery had told her, 'wield the power of fear to bring the fall of her enemies', then she was gonna do it with style.

After all, what fun was in making the world burn if your enemies didn't look at you with absolute terror before their impeding demise?

That was one of the reasons she has changed the oath, that and the fact she would never put herself under the orders of a stupid purple-skinned alien with a Messiah complex… or under anyone's else orders, for that matter.

She didn't care about parallel universes or the origin of the ring or all the shit that it has tried to explain to her.

The only thing that mattered was that she was now free… to do what she wanted.

**_Let the Fear consume them, let the golden flames of terror turn them to ashes…_**

And now that she had this power, she could stop working for that stupid human _wizard_ (At least his ring hypothesized him to be one, albeit one different from the ones from its universe),that had taken her for a fool and putted a fucking bomb in her neck,without fear of depending on him… or in that stupid 'Bond' that linked her to a weak human.

_"Process Finalized. Cutting Spiritual Bond linking the user." _announced the Qwardian Power Ring, and Karasuba had to admit that she really enjoyed the looks of horror and incredulity upon Takami and Minaka's faces when her Sekirei Crest shined and her wings manifested, golden light forming them…

And they stayed there while the Crest disappeared as if it had never existed.

"Im… possible…" muttered Takami weakly, her beliefs in the logic of the universe as she knew it shattering more and more.

_"Internal Mystical Energy of the user,stabilized. Your full power is now yours and yours alone, Lantern Karasuba."_ finished the ring with an ominous tone.

"Excellent." smiled the black Sekirei with glee.

**_No one can stop us, no one can cage us and no one can bind us… not anymore… even if I'm incomplete… they will all burn in our Light…_**

"This can't be happening… it's a nightmare, just a nightmare…!" cried Benitsubasa while frenetically trying to break free from the yellow light.

"Oh, I can assure you this is quite real, Benitsubasa. Also…" her wings spread wide and her body rose in the air, disregarding the laws of gravity "It has been funny working with you all…but I quit. Consider this my resign letter." declared Karasuba with a smile while raising her ring towards them.

"Please… let it at least be quick… I don't want to suffer too much…" whimpered Haihane while everyone else, even Minaka, started to panic in the face of their apparent and unavoidable death.

"Eh? What are you talking about, Haihane? I'm not gonna kill any of you." the sudden revelation made everyone shot her disbelieving looks "After all, how could I ever kill my old comrades and bosses… when I can let my new little friend feed on their fears?"

"What… is that supposed to mean, Black Sekirei?" muttered Minaka while looking towards the woman with a defiant look.

"Hmm… you know, I think that that thing of 'Black Sekirei' is not gonna work for me anymore. Let's see… if Green-chan is the Emerald Blade, then I suppose I'm… Shōkyaku. Yes, Golden Shōkyaku." while Karasuba declared this, everyone eyes widened when, just from behind her, the light of her ring seemed to distort and start forming the head of _SOMETHING_, its enormous jaws open as if smiling at them "Do you like how that sounds? Oh, and by the way, say hello to my new friend. He's a much better partner than any of you. And he's reaaallyhungry." the smile in the Sinestro Corps Lantern turned literally demonic, the mask she wore looking like it was her real face for a moment "And now, let your fears be made into Light… Enjoy your meal, **Parallax.**"

The golden light of the ring shined once more and filled the eyes of everyone present…

And then the screams started, the horrible screams of someone that was forced to see their most horrible fears amplified a thousand fold.

And all the while, Karasuba laughed, the Entity of Fear and personification of the Yellow Light of the Emotional Spectrum sharing her glee.

Who knew that watchingthese idiots squirm and being consume in their own Fear could be almost as fun as a good battle?

* * *

Emiya Shirou could proudly say that, despite everything, he was having a good day.

The past night had ended much better than how it had started. The look of absolute happiness in Uzume's tear-stained-face along with that of his own Sekirei when he had landed in the Inn's garden while carrying a blushing Chiho had reassured him even more about his decision.

He wasn't expecting her to run and give him a bone-crushing hug while thanking him, though. He would have to remember that before turning off his Power Aura the next time.

Still, the moment when Ashikabi and Sekirei had reunited had been a beautiful and tender thing to see, one of those that you would only expect to see in a romance movie or something, and had brought a few tears of emotion to Kazehana's face.

The Green Lantern categorically ignored the fact that one of the voices in his head was providing background music for the scene and the other was complaining about how stupid it was.

Yeah, he was still in the phase of denial. If he didn't acknowledge the existence of the voices, they would disappear on their own. Or so he told himself.

After that, it had been a busy night of excitement in Izumo Inn, and Miya had had to step in to make everyone notice that Chiho needed to rest and that they should probably go to sleep too.

And in the morning, when everyone was having breakfast, Shirou had found another strange but positive surprise.

_"So, this strange solid energy-construction of mystical origin in the form of a sheath that is inside your body it's actually Avalon, the sheath of the legendary Excalibur, a crystallized mystery that allows regeneration and absolute protection, and you're going to use it to heal Chiho's disease? I must say, Lantern Emiya, you're quickly gaining ranks in the ranking of the most 'curious' members ever recorded of the Corps."_muttered the ring while Shirou helped a really happy Chiho to sit at an even more happy Uzume's side, thanks to some sort of strange light-armor-like construction around her legs, letting her walk almost perfectly.

After all, he couldn't let her fly around the house all the time until she got better, no matter how much his child-self (Who of course didn't exist because he didn't heard any voices in his head) begged him to.

"Eh… thanks?"

"…when did my life turned so messed up that a talking alien ring can say all of that nonsense in a phrase and it still sound perfectly normal?" questioned Homura to no one, stopping from eating her miso soup for a moment before shrugging and continuing.

"Because Shirou-sama is the best Ashikabi ever!" declared Musubi with emotion while raising her arms, as if that explicated and solved all the mysteries in the world.

Homura's eyes twitched at that.

"Yes, Onii-chan is the best, he helped Chiho-chan come together with Uzume-chan!" beamed Kusano, imitating her 'sister' in raising her arms.

"Ah. Ashikabi-sama is really kind." Agreed Akitsu, raising her arms too, for some reason.

"Tha-thank you very much again, Shirou-san." muttered a blushing Chiho, but it was hard to tell if it was because of Shirou or the fact that Uzume was trying to spoon-feed her.

"Once again, there is no need to thank me, Chiho-san, I was only doing what was right. And I suggest that you enjoy a good breakfast, I'm gonna start healing you after this and you could certainly use all the extra nutrients that you can consume."

"Bro, I swear, you are the best super hero ever. I could kiss you for what you did… but I think I prefer to do that to my Chiho. " declared happily the cloth Sekirei before lovingly grabbing her Ashikabi's face and start closing the distance.

"U-Uzume-chan!" cried the sickly young woman with a look of mortification and a totally red face, but not really doing any effort to stop the busty brunette.

"Shh, it's alright, Chiho-baby, just go with the flow and let's enjoy the moment…"

"Ara, ara, U-zu-me." the voice of the landlady of the Inn make the poor alien woman froze and slowly turn her head towards Miya, who was happily smiling at her while an aura of darkness and malevolence surrounded her. "Need I to remind you about the rules of Izumo House?"

"Heh, heh, n-no need Miya, I was just joking, joking! Right, Chiho?!" quickly answered Uzume, trying to ignore the confusion reflected in Chiho's face while she looked from Miya to all the suddenly fearful other residents of the Inn, except for the sighing Shirou.

Well, at least no one could say that his life was boring.

'Chiho-san is a really great person, I'm really glad that we helped her!'

_'That was stupid, reckless and potentially dangerous for everyone. He shouldn't even have let her saw him using the ring, let alone told her who he was, And now the idiot is even gonna show her Avalon without a second thought? Does he want the Association to come kill us all?'_

'Hey, why all the negative thoughts? We are Superheroes now! Plus, is not like we're telling Chiho anything about Magecraft, she will just think that Avalon is another of our superhero things! And remember, Uzume-chan already knows about everything, so I'm sure she will help us protect Chiho if something happens!'

_'Kid, I swear, if you don't stop with all your happy fairy-tale-like stupidity, I'm gonna impale you until you can't even…_' the sound of a lot of swords falling and pining someone to the ground was heard _'ARGH, you son of a bitch! Would you stop doing that?!'_

'Hey, no swearing in Izumo Inn, especially not during breakfast! And you were the one who threatened to impale me first! It was self-defense! Right, Shirou?! Uh…?Shirou? Are you still ignoring us…?'

There wasn't any response to that.

"Husband, are you alright?" asked Tsukiumi while ignoring how Uzume tried frantically to calm Miya and Matsu laughed at the newest soap opera moment of the life in the Inn. "Your face looks like Homura's when she's about to start doing something creepy."

"Hey, it's not like is my fault that all that he does breaks my mental stability and my belief in a normal world!" protested said fire user.

"Don't shout in the table, Homura. And don't worry, Tsukiumi, I'm perfectly fine." smiled the red-haired Magus, a twitch being strangely notorious in his right eye. "I'm definitively not hearing anything in my head."

The blonde'stypical tsundere-retort that she wasn't worried at all died in her mouth while she stopped to look directly in Shirou's eyes with an uncertain and confused look, making Shirou blink repeatedly.

He hadn't said that last part out loud, right?

_"…aaand done! Now it's working perfectly fine!"_ the sudden return of the ring voice broke the awkward moment between Ashikabi and Sekirei, in addition to make Shirou notice that if had been a while since it last talked. _"Honestly, it took me more than I expected to do it, but with only a minimum of willpower I suppose it was to be expected."_

"Ring… what are you talking about?" asked Shirou while rubbing his head, glad that the non-existent voices in his head had shut up.

_"Avalon, of course. I just repaired it."_ at his tool words, the Magus choked in his soup and startling everyone in the table.

"Cough, cough…! What?! What do you mean you repaired it?! It wasn't broken!"

_"It wasn't? But it was working at least than a 10% of his maximum capacity, and the internal ability to create a pseudo-dimensional barrier to isolate the user was totally inaccessible."_ Shirou's paled and started gaping towards his Power Ring, incredulity written all over his face _"I don't know what you think, lantern Emiya, but in my records that certainly is a notorious malfuncti… Lantern Emiya?"_

"Did you just say… that you re-programed Avalon… to work for ME?"

_"… it wasn't supposed to?"_

"NO, it was supposed to be unusable for anyone but King Arthur!"

_"… so that's why it had that strangely, for this planet, complex alienation to only work for a certain type of specific mystical energy. Uh, well, it certainly wasn't a problem to remove it to accept your own *Prana* too. It would have a really great cost when compared to how it was, but using Willpower along with your own energy to sustain it should be enough."_

"It wasn't a pro…? Ring, are you aware that you basically just cracked an impossible to decipher and ancient mystery that even I can't totally understand, created by the Fae, one of the oldest and most unknown beings in this world?"

_"Once again, Lantern Emiya, I think you forget that I'm a tool created by a race that has lived long enough to see GALAXIES older than this born and die. This *Fae* and their mysteries that you mention are but little birds when compared to the Guardians and their creations."_ reminded the ring, making Shirou groan and grab his head, feeling another head coming his way. _"On a side note, I don't recommend using the Pseudo-Dimensional Barrier function except under extreme circumstances. Maybe it's extremely more easy to use that doing something similar with my power, but it would consume practically all your energy or half the full charge of my battery to do it."_

On the one hand, Shirou supposed that he should be feeling excited beyond words of having the full powers of Avalon available to him, not to mention that it would surely speed up the process of healing Chiho by a monstrous margin.

On the other hand… well, he really didn't want to know how Saber would react if she ever knew that he had allowed his talking alien ring to do who knows what to her sheath.

At the other side of the world, a certain blonde Servant blinked repeatedly, wondering why she suddenly felt the urge to have a really large and harsh session of 'training' with Shirou.

"And like that, ladies, is how our beloved Ashikabi turns a perfectly peaceful breakfast conversation into a discussion with his super-alien ring about the mystical powers of Excalibur's sheath, which is inside his body, by the way." Homura's 'happy' remark make Shirou realize that at some point everyone had stopped eating to hear his 'conversation' with the ring, and were looking at him with different levels of surprise, curiosity or confusion.

Or simply staring for no reason, like Akitsu always did.

'You know, I think her eyes are the prettiest out of everyone. Maybe is because she's always looking us and we constantly stare at them in return?'

_'Are you seriously asking my opinion in THAT?' _asked the Ashura while looking up from where he STILL was pinned to the ground_'I'm a heartless warrior of Justice, not a lover.'_

'And who says we can't fight for justice and make everyone happy at the same time?! Really, your negativism is starting to become really…!'

"You know what, I think that is time to start healing Chiho-san!" declared the last Emiya unnecessary loudly, in which was obviously not an attempt to ignore the non-existent voices in his head. "The sooner we do it the better, and even if I'm totally against leaving a breakfast half-finished, this should take priority over that."

"Well, I'm totally okay with you trying to help my Chiho as soon as possible, but… Are you alright, bro? You look kind of stressed…"

"Nonsense, Uzume, I'm perfectly fine." declared Shirou with a smile of calmness that didn't fool anyone except Musubi and Kusano. "Ring, if you would be so kind?"

_"As you wish, Lantern Emiya." _acknowledged the ring before creating a floating platform between Shirou and the surprised and sickly girl _"If you would be so kind, miss Hidaka?"_

"Ah! Ye-yes, thanks, Mr. ring." nodded Chiho before standing up and start floating until she was lying down in the pseudo-bed, Uzume looking worriedly towards her "I'm ready, Shirou-san."

"Ok, relax, this part will be quick…" as Shirou say those words, he could feel his will going through his body, gathering and uniting the dispersed essence of the Noble Phantasm far quicker that he had ever done, his hand going up to his chest while everyone looked in awe as the glorious sheath emerged from his body, a green shine surrounding it.

"Shiny…" muttered Kusano while watching how the Ever-Distant Utopia floated from her Onii-chan's hands and started entering the marveled Chiho, who gasped as the sheath seemingly dissolved inside herself without effort, a green beam of light still connecting her and Shirou's ring. "Onii-chan always does the coolest things…"

"How do you feel, Chiho-san?" asked Shirou with just a tinge of uncertainty in his words.

He didn't exactly know what his ring had done to the Noble Phantasm, and even if he trusted in the abilities of the conduit of Willpower he wasn't so sure about…

"I feel… good. Is as if I was underwater for a long time and suddenly found myself breathing air perfectly!" emotion filled Chiho's words while she clutched her chest, a peaceful smile in her face. "It feels so warm…"

"Chiho-baby…" muttered Uzume while looking lovingly towards her Ashikabi.

"Ring, give me an analysis of her body's current state." demanded the Magus with a serious face, a little of sweat marking his forehead.

_"I'm directly feeding your personal mix of Will-Prana to the sheath, and even if it consume energy at an alarming rate I must say that its regeneration power is one of the greatest I have recorded."_assured the ring while everyone looked at the process with interest. _"All the weaknesses in her body are disappearing, and her illness is debilitating and receding at an amazing rate. As natural advanced healing is one of the few things the rings can't do without a catalyst, I have to admit that this is a terrifying tool for a Green Lantern to have."_

"That's… good to know, ring." muttered Shirou, amazed, as the rest of them, at seeing the color returning to Chiho's pale skin at a clearly visible rate. He had never seen regeneration at that scale, not to mention that the girl has been sick practically all her life! Was this the power that Avalon had when Saber used it during her time in Camelot, or was the Will-Prana that he and the ring produced enhancing the already miraculous power even more…?

"Oh god… it's working, right? It really is working…" more tears of absolute happiness were filling Uzume's eyes while looking towards her smiling Ashikabi, the improving in her health being so quick that it was visible to the naked eye. "Bro…no, Shirou… thanks. Really, thanks for everything; I will forever be in your de…"

"Don't finish that phrase, Uzume, there is no need. I will tell you as many times as it takes, this is only the right thing to do… and helping someone is not something that you should do expecting a reward." interrupted the red-head while looking towards the busty brunette, a smile filling his face too, making all the Sekirei to suddenly blush.

They had never seen Shirou with a smile so… pure, reflecting a total and honest happiness.

"Shirou…" muttered Kazehana while looking almost mesmerized towards her Ashikabi, wondering what it would take for her to be able to make him smile like that.

She would gladly pass a long time 'experimenting' (As Matsu would say.) with him to discover it.

Surprisingly (Or not), similar thoughts were passing for almost allof his other Sekirei minds(Sans Musubi and Kusano, who only were happy to see their Ashikabi smiling so widely) in different degrees.

Homura would of course negate that she ever had even the tiniest of those thoughts towards Shirou. Which she didn't, of course.

Totally true.

It was in that moment, while enjoying once again that sensation of rightness that filled him every time that he helped someone, that Shirou felt SOMETHING pass over him, making his body grow still and his head to suddenly turn around, looking towards a certain direction.

Unnoticed by him, deep within his soul, a giant and green shark-whale creature stopped swimming upon the infinite wasteland of swords and raised its eyes, its gaze set in the same direction that Shirou's was.

Everyone was confused when the Magus gently put Chiho down in Uzume's arms, making the girl blink in confusion at noticing Shirou's face.

"Shirou-tan, is something wrong?" asked Matsu with a preoccupied expression.

"I… don't know. I just felt like something was…" Shirou's words were suddenly cut off when a strange alarm started sounding from his ring. "What the…?! Ring, what's happening?"

_"A spike in the Emotional Spectrum has been detected! Source… Fear?"_ the confusion was evident in the mechanical voice of the ring. _"That shouldn't be possible, what is a user of Yellow doing in this dimension?!"_

"Wait, a user of Yellow? What's that supposed to mean?" questioned Homura, a part of her mind dreading the answer, but the ring seemed to ignore her.

_"Searching for origin… MBI's Headquarters, Hiroto Minaka's three humans and two Sekirei in the room. Identities confirmed: Hiroto Minaka, Takami Sahashi, NatsuoIchinomi, Sekirei Benitsubasa and Sekirei Haihane. All of them are in the ground and unmoving."_ revealed the ring, making everyone eyes go wide and, those who understood what that mean, to panic.

"How is that even possible?!"

"It's my mother alright?!"

"Isn't Karasuba-sama with them?"

"Did Minaka die?!" Homura's question was able to make everyone stop and look towards him with a raised eyebrow. "…what?"

"All of them are alive, just unconscious. I can't say anymore from here, the cameras in the room aren't advanced enough to…"

"I'm going to see what happened, wait for me here, I will be back soon!" declared Shirou, green light enveloping and turning him into 'The Emerald Blade' in less than a second, before shooting himself out of the Inn and towards the sky.

Everyone blinked once again.

"Woah… does he do that very often?" Chiho's innocent and preoccupied question resounded loudly in the suddenly silent dining room.

"I'm starting to fear that he's going to keep doing it from now on." growled Homura while standing up and grabbing her jacket.

"Where are you going, Homura?" questioned Miya, making the fire Sekirei stop and look seriously towards her.

"I'm not letting my Ashikabi go alone into a dangerous situation again, green super powers be damned. Also, I have a really bad feeling about this." finished the woman before running towards the door and going out as fast as she could.

Almost everyone else followed after her less than a second after.

"Kazehana, grab this!" shouted Matsu while tossing her doohickey towards her, the wind user catching it without missing a beat "I will monitor you all from my room, go!"

"I think we should go with Matsu, too." said Miya while looking towards the preoccupied-looking faces of Uzume and Chiho, a hand resting upon the confused Kusano's shoulder. "I don't know why, but I too have a really bad feeling about this…"

* * *

"What in the world happened here…?" muttered Shirou while entering the CEO's office through the big hole that someone had make in one of the walls, flying at his mother side first of all. "Ring, health scan, quick."

_"She's physically fine, Blade, as it's everyone else here, but it looks like their minds had been subject to an intense and deep mental torture. It's as I feared, this is the work of a Sinestro Corps member."_

"A Sinestro what?"

_"Right, I never told you about that. The Sinestro Corps is… WATCH OUT!"_the ring's warning arrived just at the same time as Shirou's instincts had begun to make him move and evade what looked to be a yellow-glowing katana.

Which was extending itself more than 10 meters and going through the hole in the wall.

"What the hell…?!" cried the Green Lantern while flying out of the room by breaking one the unnecessarily big windows, a dozen of swords in his mind ready to be launched. "I don't know who it's, but I'm warning you, I don't want to…!"

"You don't want to do what, Green-chan?" asked a sickeningly sweet and familiar voice, and the Magus barely had enough time to create a giant shield in front of himself before a giant Zambato-like sword made of yellow light crushed it like paper, the feedback of his construct destruction making him stumble.

"That… voice…" the Emerald Blade gaze followed the enormous weapon, which was easily three times bigger than its wielder, and his mind froze upon seeing the yellow-clad and winged figure gloating less than 20 meters from him, a dark-golden aura surrounding her. "Karasuba?!"

"Wrooong!" gleefully answered the Sekirei before shooting herself thought the air at a speed that Shirou almost couldn't see, her blade morphing back to a regular katana, an excited look in her half-masked face "For you I'm Golden Shōkyaku, Green Lantern!" Shirou's eyes widened when the two short swords that he had Traced to stop Karasuba shattered like glass against the yellow-glowing katana, forcing him to distance himself from her. "Now, are you ready for Round 2?"

_"… it looks like the Sekirei Karasuba has somehow come in possession of a Qwardian Power Ring. If I wasn't an A.I, I would say that this is what the human calls *Karma*" _muttered the ring to the stunned Green Lantern.

"A yellow ring?! Damn it, why didn't you tell me anything about that?!" shouted Shirou while shooting dozens of swords towards the Fear-powered Sekirei, which to his surprise repelled or destroyed then all with ease, her katana changing its width and height as if it was made of rubber.

_"It didn't seem relevant in this universe; I thought that my arrival here was just a one in a million thing… looks like I was wrong"_ muttered the ring _"Blade, that ring of hers is exactly like me, except that it's not powered by Will… but by Fear."_

"Well, that's just great." growled Shirou while stopping shooting swords and getting ready for what it looked was going to be a truly serious fight. "Anything else that you thought irrelevant I should know besides that there were rings of other colors?

_"Ehm, yeah… the Green light is naturally weak against the Yellow one and anything made of that specific part of the Spectrum." _the protector of this sector of the universe stopped and slowly looked towards his ring, his eyebrows twitching ever so slightly.

"Ring… are you telling me that I'm weak against the color yellow?"

_"Ehm… no?"_

"Prepare yourself, Green-chan! I'm gonna make you slowly drown in your Fear until you can't fight anymore!" shouted Golden Shōkyaku, an strangely excited tone in her voice "And when you can only beg for me to finish you… I'm gonna turn you to ashes."

"… I hate my life so much." commented Shirou while Tracing an emerald copy of Caliburn in his hand.

Well, at least this situation couldn't get any worse…

_'If you had heard me when I told you to kill her this wouldn't have happened, idiot'_

'Yeah, it's Hero Time! Let's show Karasuba what happens when someone tries to disturb the peace of our Sector!'

…sometimes, Shirou really hated being the Root's bitch.

**Chapter End**

* * *

Yeah, let's leave it just there. And yes, the ring cracked Avalon. And Shirou just forget it inside Chiho before going to a battle. That's gonna get really messy in the future, especially when Saber find's out. What will happen now that Karasuba and Shirou are gonna clash? And, above all else, what the hell is going on with Shirou's ring that is making it act more human-like? Well, let's just hope that Shin Tokyo is still standing after they finish XP oh, and if someone was wondering what did this mean:

**Shōkyaku (****焼****却****):**_Incinerate, turn to ashes, cremate._

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. See you all next time!


	7. Chapter 6: Will vs Fear!

Woah, when I first saw it I could believe it, but this story already has more than 11000 views O-O Its probably nothing special when compared to some great authors, but for me is a great thing, so thanks to everyone who spent their time reading this crazy story, I hope you keep enjoying it for a long time =D

Ok, so now on some reviews, specifically the one from cmartist, congratulations, I wasn't really expecting someone to notice the little incongruence about the Yellow impurity, but I should have known that eventually someone more savvy of the DC Universe would end up reading it O,O. Don't worry, a little of that will be explained in this chapter, and I don't want to make spoilers but I will say that that little 'confusion' is part of the future and more complicated plot of the story and the true reason of why suddenly other 6 rings followed the one that Zelretch brought to the Nasuverse by no apparent reason. I will only add that I plan for this story to have a total of 3 seasons, this first one being: **Lights of Emotion Upon a Darkened World**, the second will be **Forgotten Lights, Evil Shine** and finally all hell will break loose when everything ends in the third one, **The Death of All Light**. I hope you people will keep reading until then, heh, and that my motivation allows me to finish it.

And finally, what cmartist said about the AI of Shirou's ring, well, the little thing is gonna be an important character in the story, and I will too explain why it is how it is in this chapter, I may have taken a little liberty with it but believe me when I say is possible, so bear with me for now XP

So, without further delays, enjoy the chapter everyone!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Hidden Truths! Will vs. Fear!** or _"You know, this would be a great moment to know more about the plot…"_

The Power Rings of the Green Lantern Corps didn't have any special identification systems, others than the identity of the user. It wasn't really necessary, thanks to their direct connection with the Central Battery in Oa and the different non-active Lanterns that managed the information in the planet that was the heart of the Corps and home world of the Guardians themselves.

The ring in Emiya Shirou's hands wasn't like the other rings, and 'he' knew it.

He was to be the first of a new experimental generation of rings, with a more advanced interaction system, a self-adaptable A.I. that would adapt to the user and develop some sort of 'personality' that make the interaction between them more effective and easy.

That much should have been obvious, for 'himself' and the others, specially by how it had 'evolved' from referring to 'himself' as 'this unit' and started to think of himself as 'he' instead of 'it'. Not to mention his ever-growing and 'appreciated' humor sense.

It supposedly was a test to stop the problem of newbies Lantern getting themselves killed before they could went to Oa to receive formal training. If it worked, the Guardians had even thought of installing it in a new type of experimental ship or something…

Also, even if the ring didn't knew it, that was the only reason why Zelretch had been able to 'borrow' it, because it was in the center of a lab where it was being monitored for testing, isolated of other parts of the Guardian's fortress.

But, now that the ring thought about it, he couldn't access any data regarding his creation, not even the name of the Guardian that had started the project, what had motivated it in the first place or how had they developed such an strange A.I as his.

That wasn't right… wait, it was possible that there was an error in his database? That shouldn't have been anything less of impossible, but he couldn't be sure without a connection to the Central Power Battery in Oa, and the damn thing apparently couldn't be reached by his systems from this dimension.

Also, there was something tugging at the edge of his mind, almost as if he was forgetting something important and…

CLANG! FWOOSH!

"Heh, when did you get so good with the sword?! It's like you became a completely different person!"

"Shut…up!"

CRACK! CLANG!

… and, he should probably left those worrying thoughts for later and concentrate in getting himself and Shirou out of this battle in one piece.

_"Connection with the weapon *memories* stabilized at 95%… really, these abilities of yours never stop amazing me, Blade."_

"Thanks for the praise, but I'm a little busy at the moment!" answered Shirou while deflecting another of the ferocious slashes coming from the Sinestro Corps member with an elegance and perfection that he didn't have before, but it was fairly familiar to him.

Honestly, he should be the one saying those things to the ring. The level at what it let him amplify his abilities was… well, the best answer would be given if Rin or Saber could see him now; deflecting all of Karasuba's ever-changing sword attacks using the style of the King of Knights herself.

It was truly amazing, how he could feel the memories of the Sword of Assured Victory, the sword in the stone, Caliburn, flowing through him, his natural ability amplified by willpower letting him fight almost perfectly like his old Servant of the Grail War, 'faking' the style of her beloved ex-girlfriend with a terrifying easiness.

In that moment, Karasuba wasn't fighting against the skills of Emiya Shirou. She was fighting against the skills of the greatest knight that humanity had ever known.

Except for the flying maneuvers part, of course.

He wasn't complaining, of course, not when he could clearly feel that the monstrous strength that the old Black Sekirei used to have had been even MORE augmented thanks to that yellow ring of hers, not to mention that strange style she was using of changing her sword's shape almost every second, from her normal katana to that enormous Zanbato or the strange whip-like form that let her blade attack like a twisting snake.

"This… is… great!" growled the self-proclaimed Golden Shōkyaku, once again clashing swords with Shirou while both of them barreled through the air at monstrous speeds, leaving a lot of broken windows and wide-eyed witnesses in their way. "The feeling of fighting without limits, with all my strength, against an enemy that's actually a challenge…!" Karasuba's body visibly trembled while sparks flew from yet another impact between their weapons, a deep and almost… unnerving excitement in her voice "I have never felt this good before, Green-chan! Only for that your death would be semi-quick and not so painful!" another quick and brutal exchange occurred "YES! Give me more! MORE!"

_'… is she really moaning while saying that?'_

'Uh, yes, I think she is. Well, who knew? There IS someone who is worse than us with our whole *distorted* thing!'

_'… the saddest part is that I'm inclined to agree with you.'_

"Would the both of you shut up already?! I'm trying to have a deadly battle here!" cried the Magus while resisting the urge to grab his head, making his enemy stop, confused, and his ring to 'stare' at him.

"What?"

_"Blade… who are you talking to?" _questioned the ring in confusion.

"… I really said that out loud, didn't I?" muttered Shirou before raising his ring and shot a beam of pure green energy towards the still dumfounded Karasuba, making her crash against a void storehouse. "Ok ring, how do I get rid of this Green-Yellow weakness? You were saying something about the relation between Fear and Will…

_"Oh, right. You have to use your willpower to overcome your fears so you can… you… wait, something… is not right…"_ the sudden uneasiness in the ring's voice surprised Shirou, who had never heard it doubt like that.

"Ring? Are you alright?"

_"Why was… the green light weak against the yellow…? There was something important, I know, it was something about the Central Battery… an impurity… but I can't remen… I mean, access the records… it's almost like there is something… blocking my memory data or…"_

"That was really annoying, Green-chan!" roared Karasuba, rocketing against the surprised Magus and carrying both of them through a couple of walls before crashing against a street "Now let's see what happens when your fears come to devour you! BURN!"

"Ugh… I won't let you!" cried back the Superhero, creating a massive shield filled with swords pointing towards his enemy… but it shattered easily against the incoming assault "What?! Why did…?!"

_"Warning, Power Levels at 19%" _hearing the ring's voice made the Ashikabi realize with dawning horror that he had forgotten to recharge it after starting the process of healing Chiho and…

Dark-golden light filled Shirou's vision and the world went black.

* * *

Everything was burning.

Fire was consuming everything; evil flames that almost seemed to be alive were turning the city into a living Hell.

A sinister and EVIL black sun burned in the sky, like a tower of death casting its shadow upon this forsaken place.

Shirou knew this scene; he knew it better than anyone. This was where Sahashi Minato died … and Emiya Shirou was born.

The Fuyuki City fire. Aftermath of the 4th Holy Grail War.

His true 'birthplace'.

"What in the world…?" muttered the Magus while looking down at himself, surprised to see that he wasn't in his Emerald Blade uniform anymore. He looked younger, exactly like he did in the 5th Holy Grail War, with the same clothes and everything. "This is…"

_"Lantern Emiya… I think this is the so-called power of Fear of the Yellow light."_ announced his ring, surprising Shirou at seeing that he still had it but couldn't feel its power_. "This is bad; the Sekirei Karasuba must be trying to use your worst fears for…"_

It was then, that Shirou saw the corpses.

He remembered clearly this living hell, so seeing the burning corpses of those who couldn't be saved shouldn't have really surprised him… except for the fact that the corpses were different.

All of them were familiar.

He saw his Sekirei slowly burning, their faces twisted into agonic masks of pain.

He saw Rin and Saber being consumed by the angry flames, accusing looks filling their eyes.

He saw his mother, Yukari, Miya, Uzume, Chiho, Fuji-nee, Sakura, Issei, old man Raiga… every person he had ever know, being reduced to charred flesh and bones.

He saw that little girl, the first person that he couldn't save, Illyasviel, looking down on him together with every other person that he had failed to save in every mission with the Enforcers since the Grail War, all of them burning.

And thousands of shadows, vaguely humanoid-shaped, were surrounding him, pointing at him with his fingers.

Accusing him of everything. It was his entire fault. All of them were rejecting and blaming him.

Archer appeared to his right, looking mockingly towards him with that cynical smile of his.

"I told you, didn't I? That this path would only bring suffering for yourself and those around you? But you didn't hear me, and this is the result."

Shirou had barely time to look towards him before Gilgamesh appeared to his left, his typical smile of superiority adorning his face and his arms crossed.

"Do you see it now, mongrel? You're nothing but trash. In the end, no matter how much effort you put into it, you will never be able to do what you yearn for. You're no hero and this worthless world won't accept one either."

The Emiya's fist clenched and he lowered his gaze upon hearing the words of the King of Heroes.

"Do you understand now, idiot?" said Archer while he and Gilgamesh suddenly appeared just at his side. "In the end, it's not that you can't save everyone, but that…"

**_You can't save anyone._**

"Shut up."

**_All of them. It's all your fault. You know it. You can't protect any of them._**

"I said, shut up."

**_That's what you fear. You know that in the end you will make them suffer. You know that you will FAIL!_**

_"Lantern Emiya, what…?"_ the ring stopped from saying anything else upon seeing the look on Shirou's face.

**_YOU CAN'T SAVE ANYONE!_**

"SHUT UP!" growled Shirou towards the heavens, fire and steel burning in his eyes with an emerald glow, and for a fleeting moment all the things around him seemed to be made of bad shaped yellow light, with a giant and surprised insectoid being in place of the black sun, before everything turned bad to normal color. "You're right, this is what I fear. All of it. But, do you think that any of what you say, any illusion you show me, will deter me? The fear can't stop me, because… I promised it."

**_What…?_**

He had faced fear before, thousands of times.

He had feared with every fiber of his being the monstrous fury of the son of Zeus. And he still had chased behind Saber towards the graveyard.

'BANZAAAI!' cried a little figure sailing through the air, double-kicking Archer in the solar plexus and making him crash against the burning rubble. It was a red-haired kid, with a green cape and happy clothes, the same useless mask that came with Shirou's original uniform over his face. 'Who the hell do you think you're, trying to imitate Archer?! You're a thousand years far of being able to make us feel the same disgust that that bastard did with only talking! And you didn't imitate his sarcasm at all!'

**_No…what's this?!_**

He had feared when Caster had took Saber away and Rin had told to not get involved. He had still gone to the church to try and save his Servant. He had get Rin out of there when that bastard of Archer had betrayed her.

_'I hate to agree with the fucking kid, but he's right. Also…'_ a second figure appeared, a tall man in dark-green armor with four arms covered in thick metal plate, wielding a pair of Kanshou and Bakuya in each hand, his three-faced helmet (Which looked like they were real faces) set in a grim visage while he bisected the surprised Gilgamesh. _'…the true Gilgamesh wouldn't have said that line about *what we yearned for*.'_

Both fake-servants crumpled into deformed yellow forms before dissolving into light.

**_How…?!_**

Fear couldn't stop him, because even if he still felt it… he would never surrender to it while pursuing his ideal.

Because that was his promise…

"I will save everyone." declared Shirou while looking into the sky, the black sun dissolving in yellow light and showing the incredulous face of the Entity of Fear.

**_What in the Spectrum's name…?! Human…! Is your mind broken?!_**

"Distorted. That's the word that you should use." muttered Shirou while raising his head, once again in his normal age, the two representations of his abnormal mind at his side. "Your illusions don't affect me, because I would never let something as trivial as fear to stop me from doing what I must. I will protect them. I will help them. I will save them. All of them. And I will keep doing it so that what happened to those I couldn't never happens again. That's my ideal."

_'And now also…'_ the Ashura raised one of his hands, green light shining in it.

'It's our duty!' finished the little Hero, also raising his glowing hand in a closed fist.

_"What the…? Lantern Emiya how did you…?"_ for all his high-technology A.I., the ring couldn't understand what the hell was happening around him, much less when or how his portable Power Battery suddenly appeared in the middle of the three.

Such was the fucked up chaos that was the mentality of Emiya Shirou. Not even the greatest alien tech could understand it.

"Don't worry ring… I'm gonna end this fake-nightmare." Shirou closed his eyes… and intoned his new creed, his oath of salvation.

All three of them did it, smiling, coldly grimacing and with a determination-filled face.

_With my Brightest Blade, in the Darkest Night;_

_No one who needs to be saved shall escape my Sight!_

_Let those who fight for the Ideal of Salvation,_

_Protect like my power, Emerald's Blade Shine!_

Emerald light bathed the fake-world, breaking it like glass. Parallax roared in agony and, for an instant, everything was an unlimited wasteland, filled to the brink with swords and other weapons, all of them standing proudly under an emerald sun.

And a glorious whale-shark roared proudly, its light shining gloriously upon the Hill of Swords.

And in the moment before everything exploded, the Entity of Fear recognized it.

**_DAMN YOU, IOOOOONNNN…!_**

* * *

Karasuba blinked for a moment, trying to comprehend what was happening, before a wave of green power violently threw her back, her body cracking the street upon impact.

Her wings flapped and she was back on her feet just in time to see her opponent emerge from the light, his sword having been replaced at some moment by a green lantern identical to the one she had stored away in her ring, except for the color.

"What the… how…?" Golden Shōkyaku's mind was in shock. She hadn't seen clearly what had happened but…

How could such a horribly beautiful and burning place exist in the mind of a human?

_"Power Levels at 100%. I don't know what the fuck just happened, but let's kick her ass, Blade."_

Shirou's eyes opened behind his helmet, the Green Lantern Corps' symbol shining in them.

"No more games." He put his arms raised at his sides and separated his legs, adopting the position of Archer's style, _his_ own style.

He was gonna end this with his own abilities.

The Sekirei eyes widened. She _recognized_ that posture.

"Trace, On."

Twin Chinese Pian Dao appeared in his hands, one of the darkest shades of green possible, the other the exact opposite. The Yin-Yang symbol adorning them in the same colors.

It didn't take a genius to imagine them in black and white.

"Those swords…! Don't tell me…?!" before Karasuba could finish expressing her thoughts, he was already upon her, his body lowered and the blades screaming thought the air to bisect her.

She shot to the air, her wings opening widely behind her, her own sword falling to confront him.

The weapons clashed, the earth trembled, and once again the Sinestro Corps member found herself astonished.

Their strength was almost the same.

_"Will-Reinforcement process, complete. Augmenting imperfection-filling process in the arms and legs. Reducing strain in internal organs, applying augment in the retinas." _the ring's words fell in deaf ears, the echo of weapons hitting against each other drowning them. _"Adaption for dual-wielding close combat, finalized. Go get her, Blade!"_

She slashed fiercely, her katana more like a living extension of herself trying to utterly destroy his enemy.

All of her swings were deflected, with an almost mechanical precision, all the attacks that should have been mortal or crippling blows harmlessly passing him just upon the blades of Kanshou and Bakuya, the Noble Phantasms cutting the air with inhuman exactitude.

If someone were to saw them in that moment, it would have described the scene in a simple manner.

It was a dance. A dance of death between two warriors. A beautiful but deadly golden beast fighting against a glorious emerald warrior of justice.

Karasuba was feeling ecstatic, so much that she no longer was thinking about what she had noticed of the blades or the stile that his opponent was using. In that moment she couldn't think of anything else than the perfect motions they were executing through the air, the form in that their blades crashed with an absolute contrast of fury and calmness.

She had never been able to fight like this, going all out for so long, going beyond her limits, pushing her body to the extreme, and still finding resistance, finding a challenge…

Finding an equal.

She had never had anyone like that since… her.

It was almost as if they were in a trance, flying through Shin Tokyo's sky without caring of being seen, so concentrated in the battle that they were perfectly adjusting to moving in three dimensions, their thoughts and concentration flowing though the rings and allowing them to fight in the air as easily as if they were in the ground.

All of those that saw them, from a distance or passing by, were mesmerized or stunned by the sight.

Will vs. Fear. Golden vs. Emerald. Yellow vs. Green. Crow vs. Sword. Sekirei vs. Human.

A Distorted Protector against a Lonely Destroyer.

For everyone else, human or Sekirei, it was like seeing Gods battling.

"Trace, Overedge." suddenly announced the Green Lantern, and the alien woman's eyes widened when he crossed his swords behind himself and them not so much grew but _expanded_, almost tripling their original size, cracking in a sea of deformed shards that looked like feathers, giving the illusion of two menacing wings.

Karasuba's grin grew even more an she throw herself at him, crying a wordless battle cry while a second sword made of pure yellow light appeared in her other hand, the mortal dance resuming fiercer than ever, both of them now practically two blurs of green and yellow clashing at impossible speeds.

Every time Karasuba's sword-construct clashed against the Broken Phantasms, it shattered, but she was so 'high' in her own bloodlust that the mental pain from the feedback didn't stop her from recreating it a second later, ready to keep clashing it alongside her fear-reinforced katana.

Shirou hadn't experienced a battle so extreme since his fight against Gilgamesh, a battle when the slightest mistake could be the difference between life and death.

And still, for all that she had done, and for all that she was doing, he couldn't hate Karasuba, he couldn't consider her the same that he had the lunatic King of Heroes.

She wasn't 'evil'. She just did what she did because that was what she was. Fighting and destroying was in her nature.

In that regard, she wasn't that much different to him. He wasn't even sure if…

Kanshou veered off course, half a centimeter too high. Just that.

Golden Shōkyaku's katana passed it and flew directly towards his head.

_"Dammit!"_ mentally cursed Shirou, rectifying his posture and slightly moving his head to the right, just enough so that he could continue fighting and Karasuba's weapon only grazed the side of his helmet.

The helmet-construct shattered like glass, the red-head's will so fixed in the battle that it couldn't maintain it after the impact.

Their eyes met, both of them widening.

"Shiroi-chan…?" muttered the stunned Sekirei, her brain once again working once it was out of her battle-trance.

"Uh…?"

And suddenly, Karasuba's cheeks flushed red and an almost unbearable heat filled every fiber of her being, a primal and feral urge, no, _desire_ overpowering her craves for battle.

She recoiled, horrified, her second sword dispersing while she put as much distance as she could between herself and Shirou, her now empty hand grabbing her face while she tried to control her ragged breath.

"Wha…? NO! This can't be happening again!" she cried while looking furiously at her ring "I thought you fixed this! Why is it happening again…?!"

_"This unit ended the Mystical Bond that chained you and restored your internal energy so that you could fully use it without said bond. What now is happening is a biological reaction of your species. This unit can't *fix* that."_

"You gotta be fucking kidding me…!" roared the Sinestro Corps member while trying to look towards Shirou again, only for her blush to increase and she had to force herself to look away once more. "No, dammit! Why did it have to be you, out of all the fucking humans?! I was having the greatest battle of my entire life!"

"…ehm … I'm sorry…?" dumbly answered the Magus, the absurdity of what was happening impeding him of saying much more.

_"Lantern Emiya, I'm not totally sure, but… did you really just nullified the enemy just by letting her look at your face?"_ questioned the ring while looking between Karasuba and Shirou _"That's… probably a first in the recorded story of the Corps."_

"Ring, shut up and recreate my helmet before another absurdity happens, like that my sister just appears around that corner, or…"

A tornado surrounded in fire suddenly burst upon the distracted Karasuba, engulfing her. And then a giant torrent of water covered it, just seconds before abruptly freezing into a giant iceberg, which crashed against the street with a deafening sound.

"Or something like that, Lantern Emiya?" asked the ring while both of them looked plainly towards the giant block of ice that now adorned a street of Japan's capital.

"… yes, ring, or something like that." growled Shirou while trying to control the new headache coming his way, hearing familiar voices calling in his direction…

Today really wasn't his day.

* * *

Finding their Ashikabi hadn't been difficult at all.

As Homura had kindly pointed, all they had to do was follow the path of destruction, shouting people and open-mouthed idiots trying to take pictures of the flying green and yellow lights.

Wait… green AND YELLOW?

"What the hell?!" was the first thing that the fire user could say when she and the others arrived to a rooftop nearby the battle, before rapidly grabbing the doohickey from Kazehana's hands "Matsu, are you seeing this?!"

"Yes, I'm… and that's bad! Shirou-tan's stupid ring was supposed to be erasing any data that showed them, but it stopped doing it some thirty seconds ago!" answered the bespectacled Sekirei while furiously typing commands as fast as she could, the worried gazes of Miya, Uzume, Chiho and Kusano just behind her. "I'm trying to erase all that I can, but I don't have access to any portable camera or mobile phone in the area like the ring does! What in the world are they doing that it can't…?!" Matsu's words died in her throat when she finally got a clear view of the fight.

More precisely, of whom Shirou was fighting.

Behind her, Miya stiffened and her eyes widened while Uzume's mouth almost dropped to the ground and her arms shot to embrace the surprised Chiho, who noticed the FEAR engraved in her Sekirei's eyes.

"Uzume-chan? What's wrong?" asked the girl while looking against the monitor, worry visible in her eyes while watching the yellow-clad woman with whom the superhero was fighting, her hands suddenly tightly pressed upon the place were Avalon had entered in her body. "Do you know her…?"

"Matsu…" muttered Miya, totally tensed, her voice so serious that Kusano stopped looking towards her Onii-chan to look worriedly at the landlady. "Is that really…?"

"Karasuba." answered flatly the Number 002 while taking off her glasses. "With a ring like Shirou's. A YELLOW ring."

None of them knew what that mean, but both of the ex-members of the original Disciplinary Squad knew that it couldn't be good.

"You have got to be… kidding me…" muttered Homura while she and the others stared up, between amazed and horrified how their Ashikabi fought against the boogeyman of their species in a level beyond anything they had ever imagined, a little part of her mind wondering how it was possible for Karasuba to have her wings out like that.

Not even Akitsu, who was always the most proactive of helping Shirou, could pry her ayes away of the battle, unable to do anything.

"Shirou-sama and Karasuba-sama… they are so strong!" said Musubi with stars in her eyes, receiving incredulous stares from her fellow Sekirei. "Go, Shirou-sama! Go, Karasuba-sama, fight!"

"You know, I'm starting to seriously wonder what's wrong with her…" muttered Kazehana while looking up at the battle again.

"I stopped caring a long time ago and just accepted that her weirdness is part of who she is." added Tsukiumi while looking worriedly towards her husband.

Then, Shirou somehow transformed his two typical twin swords into some sort of twisted giant feathered-wing-blades.

"WHAT THE…?! How did he do that?!" shouted Homura while resisting the urge of tearing off her hair as Karasuba grinned and created a second sword with yellow light, launching herself towards Shirou and resuming the fight even more brutally than before.

And yet, somehow none of them managed to harm the other, like they were just rehearsing a very complicated and deadly beautiful dance.

"Ah." Akitsu's voice managed to tear the worried eyes of the fire Sekirei off the clash of flying warriors, hoping that she had thought of something for them to do that wasn't standing there like idiots. "I don't think I can carry those between my arms."

"… why I'm the only one whose sanity is still in contact with the real world?" cried Homura the moment she realized that the ice user was talking about the swords.

"Okay, Homura's moaning and stupid cries are right, we have to do something!" declared Kazehana while clenching her hands, wind spinning furiously around them. "I refuse to just stand here while my Ashikabi is fighting an enemy like her!"

"Yes, you're right; I won't stand aside like a useless decoration while my husband put himself in risk like that!"

"Ah. I want to help Ashikabi-sama too."

"Yay! I'm sure Shirou-sama would love it if we joined the battle with him!"

"I hate be the one who breaks the enthusiasm, but in case any of you had forgotten, none of us has super-alien rings to fly, and if we try attacking from this distance we may as well be aiming at Shirou." pointed Homura while looking towards the point where Karasuba and Shirou were clashing. "So, unless something happens that distract and distance her from him, I don't think we can…"

That was the moment when Shirou's helmet broke.

Homura's mind was still too stunned by the absurdity of what happened to really register the shout of 'Now!' from Kazehana, but her body acted in an impulse and she let out a torrent of fire towards the distracted Karasuba, Kazehana's wind feeding her element and turning the torrent into a roaring tornado of flames that engulfed the flying Sekirei.

Barely a second later, Tsukiumi's Water Celebration soared through the sky and buried the flames with a ferocious might, just an instant before Akitsu froze it, leaving a gorgeous giant chump of ice floating in the air.

And it obviously fell and crashed into the street with brutal force, like any normal thing that respected the law of gravity should. That was probably what got the fire user out of her daze.

"Hey, no fair, you didn't let me do anything!" whined Musubi, before immediately brightening again and start waving towards the incoming emerald hero. "Hey, Shirou-sama, here!"

"Everyone!" the Green Lantern wasn't exactly quite sure what to say, but figured that reprimand them for following him wouldn't do, especially after the little display of a second ago. "That was amazing. How did you synchronized to made and attack like that so perfectly?"

"Well, I'm not really sure, but who cares!" exclaimed Kazehana while hugging him happily "I'm so glad you're okay!

"I'm gl-glad that you are safe too, husband." muttered Tsukiumi while standing closer to him and looking to the side, blushing.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" shouted Homura, suddenly standing in front of Shirou and pointing his finger towards him. "You found the Black Sekirei armed with a dammed alien ring in yellow and the first thing you thought was fighting her?! What if you got killed because you didn't knew what she could do with it, uh?! And what if…?!"

_"Sekirei Homura, I suggest that you calm yourself, it wasn't really as bad as you think, Lantern Emiya was…" _whatever the ring was going to say was suddenly interrupted the sound of breaking ice, making everyone eyes widen.

They turned just in time to see yellow light burst out of the iceberg and a pissed and flushed Karasuba shot out of it, glaring daggers at them.

Then, her eyes met Shirou's and her flush intensified, forcing her to cover her face with one hand again.

That wasn't supposed to happen, dammit!

"Is she…? Is she really…?" Kazehana's incredulity was evident in her voice while she looked between her ex-companion and Shirou.

"Bu-but, didn't she already had an Ashikabi?!" cried Tsukiumi, her eyes darting from one side to another in need of confirmation.

Homura just reprimed the urge of checking if she could willingly self-combust, like she was going to before being winged.

"Grr… dammit, no, I want to keep fighting!" roared Golden Shōkyaku with a frustration-filled voice.

"Karasuba-sama, you're reacting to Shirou-sama again!" happily shouted Musubi, not caring about the apparent impossibility of that fact. "It's a sign that the power of Love wants you to achieve happiness too! Isn't that wonderful?!"

Everyone looked towards the Sekirei in the Miko outfit with varying grades of skepticism.

"Musubi…" started Shirou while sighing and grabbing his head. "I really don't think that…"

Then, Karasuba's eyes widened and she let go of her katana to grab her head with both hands.

"ARGH! NO, shut up Parallax!"

"Karasuba-sama?!" cried a worried Musubi while everyone else stared in confusion. "What's wrong?"

**_Let me out! Let me out, Sekirei! I will kill him, the Avatar of Ion MUST DIE!_**

"Shut the fuck up, you oversized bug! NO ONE finish my battles for me, no one! The only one who is going to kill him is ME!" growled Karasuba while recovering her weapon and turning her back towards them "This isn't over, Emiya Shirou! Next time, you're going down!" she finished while purposely not looking at him, before shooting towards the sky like a golden bullet.

"…you know, I think that's the first time she had ever called me by my name." muttered Shirou while looking in the direction where she had disappeared. "Damn, I can't let her get away just like…!"

_"I suggest that you don't pursue her, Lantern Emiya. While her situation is worrying, you had more urgent matters to attend to…"_ an explosion going off in some part of the city made everyone jump and look back towards the path of destruction that the two Lanterns had left in the way of her fight. _"Like stopping someone from dying because of the damage the two of you caused."_

Today REALLY wasn't Shirou's day…

* * *

The Spectrum had clashed. The power of the Emotions released in that battle being so fierce that it had reached around the entire planet, even if there wasn't really anyone who could feel it.

_"Emotional discharge detected."_

Well, ALMOST anyone.

_"Possible bearer found. Warning, abnormally high levels of the Spectrum detected. Beginning recruiting process, immediately."_

Another star of light stopped its travel around the Earth and aimed itself towards shin Tokyo, flying with hurried speed.

After all, it wasn't every day that a living incarnation of the Spectrum was found.

* * *

Izumi Higa blinked, confused, and looked around for a moment, wondering from where that strange bad feeling he just felt had come.

Then, he shrugged and called Kakizaki to give the order to kidnap Sahashi Yukari and her Sekirei. He was going to use her as leverage to made Emiya Shirou work for him and obtain his Jinki.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

"Damn… everything…" panted Karasuba while letting herself slid towards the floor, once again in her normal clothes of the Disciplinary Squad.

She didn't exactly knew where she was, just that she had flown out of the city as fast as she could and then found this abandoned wood house somewhere in this godforsaken forest.

She had quickly realized that she could fly much faster than she originally thought. Also, it didn't matter where she was; her ring had assured her it could get her back to Shin Tokyo without problems.

The only thing that truly bothered her was (Apart from what happened with Shirou) that the damn Parallax wouldn't shut up!

**_Why did you run away?! You should have let me out; I would have ended them, all of them!_**

"Would you please shut up already?! I told you, I'm the only one that will kill that bastard!" growled the Sekirei before looking towards her finger. "Ring! If I kill him… will this damn weakness go away?" she grabbed her hand tightly, still remembering the _craving_, the _necessity_ she felt of joining her lips with his.

She hated that. She was supposed to only want to fight him to death, damn it! She was the one who would reduce the world to ashes! She didn't need herself linked to a stupid human, even if he was so great fighter, and looked so good in that armor-uniform, and…!

Karasuba slapped her face violently. God damn it all, she had to stop thinking about him! It was easier when he still had the fucking helmet on and she didn't know it was him!

_"Probably, Lantern Karasuba. Even if I don't possess deep knowledge of your species, you don't seem to have 'reacted' like this to any other human. It's reasonable to assume that, once you eliminate the Green Lantern that causes this reaction in your biology, it_ _would end."_

"Good… that's good. I'm going to… rest my eyes for a little moment… to calm this stupid urge. And after that… the three of us are going to go back and…" the Number 004 wasn't able to finish her sentence, having already fallen sleep.

The Entity of Fear growled in frustration. Parallax didn't knew what Ion was doing here, in fact he didn't even knew why or how he had arrived here either, but the next time he found his Avatar, he…!

Wait… that was strange. How had he arrived here… and why was he feeling so weak? He felt really small, his power reduced to barely a fraction of what should be and he couldn't even get out of the body of this creature!

Also… his memory was extremely hazy, for some reason. He remembered being trapped in the Green Lantern Central Battery in Oa with that damn Ion, and then…

And then what? Why couldn't he remember anything else?

"Yume…" muttered Karasuba in her sleep, rolling to the side a little. From the inside, Parallax observed her.

And, probably the most worrying fact, why did he felt so… attached to this being, this Sekirei?

**_What in the Spectrum's name is wrong with me…?_**

Surprisingly, someone did answer something to him.

_"Error, data memory damage detected, some of the internal memory of this unit is being blocked by an unknown source. Central Battery unreachable, finding a way to reestablish connection suggested."_ intoned the Power Ring in its monotone voice, making the Entity of Fear narrow his eyes.

Something really strange was going on with his presence in this universe… and Ion's too, apparently.

But what did that mean?

* * *

_The lights gather and clash… and the Spectrum prepares itself for what's to come._

_The Night will come…_

* * *

**Chapter End**

* * *

And that was another chapter, thanks everyone who read it!

Ok, I hope that that battle scene was acceptable; I already know that I'm not really good with them but I did my best. Also, some more hints of the plot are coming to light, but to everyone who wonders about it, I can only say: Patience.

After all, aren't all the good stories the same, letting little facts that everyone wants to know about without answer until much later? Yeah, I know it can be annoying, but I hope you can bear with me XP

All the complete explanation about Shirou's ring will be made in the next chapter, but to those who are the most fan of Green Lantern in general I left a little hint in the beginning of the chapter. Has anyone seen the latest Green Lantern Animated Series =D?

And like that, I left you all go on with your lives and to wonder how fucked the poor Higa is XD Goodbye!


	8. Chapter 7: Choice of Path

Okay, I'm back everyone, and I bring you more of The Emerald Blade, the greatest (and only) superhero of the Nasuverse, the place where everything, even the planet itself, is trying to kill you!

…on second thought, I don't think that that is a positive thing which with start a chapter of, well, anything, but it's some sort of twisted truth XP The Nasuverse seems to be specifically designed to make any little bit of happiness that its characters try to achieve cost a whole ton of suffering and loss, physically and emotionally, so: Will the rings be forced to adapt to that truth, or will their presence and that of the Entities here change the way the world itself has been for so long? That will depend not on them, but on their bearers and how they chose to use the Light.

By the way, for those who know more about DC, there is a little part in this chapter which is a 'story', slightly adapted from the point of view of a certain character, that I'm sure you will in part recognize, and I hope that those that are only more familiarized with the Nasuverse enjoy it too =D

And now, without further delays, I left you all with the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Choice of Path: What does it mean to be a Hero? **or _"You really shouldn't have kidnapped the protagonist's sister, Higa."_

Hiroto Minaka sat in his office, face buried in his hands, wondering how could it all have gone to hell so quickly.

In less than 5 hours, all his carefully planned work to maintain the Sekirei and everything that happened in Shin Tokyo hidden of the Association's ears had been reduced to trash and brutally destroyed by, ironically, one of the same aliens that he never considered more than means to an end, and some unknown idiot, both of whom have mysteriously gotten their hands in two rings that could make even the greatest Mystic Code in the world look like a child's toy, and maybe even arriving to the level of Noble Phantasms.

When he had awoke, less than an hour before, he had found himself in the infirmary, where his recently named assistant, that Mamoru guy, had informed him more or less of what had happened after Karasuba had 'neutralized' him and the others big fishes of MBI.

By showing him a picture of the fight that she and that emerald guy from the last days have had.

While flying. In the middle and through the city, while using changing swords and light beams.

And that wasn't the worst part, no. The worst part was that said photo wasn't a classified image that his assistant had shown him in secret, no. It was a picture from a mobile phone.

A picture uploaded in Twitter.

There was even a thirty seconds video that a lucky imbecile had managed to capture when the two of them passed flying by his home.

His mind was still trying to process that when a random officer had entered the infirmary to inform the two of them that they had just finished repairing the more preoccupant damage caused by the battle and rescued everyone who had been in potential danger.

With the help of the so called Emerald Blade, who had used his 'alien ring' to create solid light and help clean all the damage he could while helping everyone who needed it. His words, apparently, not theirs.

Minaka was really wishing to simply use the Jinkis to send everything to hell and see if his plan worked, but sadly the alien artifacts still needed more preparation before he could even begin to have the littlest hope that it worked.

It was time that he was sure he didn't have anymore, not now that that idiot had doomed them all. Surely, the man should have been an ignorant normal guy who, like Karasuba apparently, had come in possession of an extremely powerful tool from unknown origin and thought he could use it to 'do some good' while ignoring the true horrors of this world.

Even without him, after what Karasuba had caused, it was only a matter of time before the people from the Clocktower came to kill them all. At least, that was what should be under normal circumstances.

The 'normal circumstances' with which the Association usually silenced with their ancient might didn't include the possible evidence that the supernatural existed going viral on the Internet and having expanded through thousands of different websites of all the fucking world in less than 4 hours, with tons of wild theories about aliens, gods incarnated, Superheroes, Super villains, and the like spreading everywhere.

By the time those idiots in London got word of what had happened, there wouldn't be a single person in the world who didn't knew of what had happened in Shin Tokyo, regardless if they believed it or not.

Perhaps the most ironic thing was that 'Magic' was the less mentioned theory about the origin of the two flying super humans. In modern days, the science fiction was apparently a much more accepted reality by the masses than the things of fantasy.

To sum it up, the great CEO of MBI, genius Magus, and someone who thought he could fool everyone he wished, even the Magus Association, and get away with it, was now in front of what could be the most brutal change in the world in thousands of years.

There was no way in hell the Clocktower could over up this. Now, the real question was, what would those technologically-ignorant bastards do once they found up what had happened?

Also, he would have to hypnotize Takami and the rest of the Disciplinary Squad the moment they woke up to ensure that they wouldn't make questions about him.

Not to mention, those things that the _creature_ accompanying Karasuba had shown him…

He glanced at his phone.

"Maybe I could have tried to be a better father? When was the last time I called Yukari for… anything?" he wondered out loud.

…nah, there were more pressing matters to attend to that some stupid visions showed to him by mystical alien monsters about his poor paternal abilities. With those assured thoughts in his head, the white haired man put away his phone again.

After all, it wasn't as if that was going to come back and bit him in the ass, right?

Little did he knew that, I he had called his daughter in that moment, he could have heard how Izumi Higa's goons kidnapped her, and maybe could have prevented all the hell that was going to break loose in the city by the next day.

Sadly, not even being mentally tortured by the incarnation of Fear itself was enough to made Hiroto Minaka a good father.

* * *

_In the beginning, there was only Darkness. Total and absolute Darkness. The Multiverse didn't exist, just that giant Black nothingness._

_She really didn't like that, it was all dark and scary… and silent._

_But then, suddenly, there was Light. Shining, brilliant White Light, casting away all darkness, covering all existence with his shine. And everything was born from the light, all the things, the planets, the stars, the galaxies._

_Even the different Universes that formed the beautiful and strange construction called Multiverse._

_That made her happy. It was all so shiny and marvelous! She could keep looking at that forever and never get bored!_

_It was not meant to be._

_The Darkness returned, barely a mockery of what it originally was, and slashed hatefully at the Light before disappearing once more. It wasn't enough to destroy it._

_But it was enough to break it. The glorious White Light broke, and divided. From what originally was one, seven were born._

_Seven Emotions controlling each one. A rainbow of color that now illuminated the Multiverse. A spectrum of colors._

_An Emotional Spectrum._

_And from each Light, a _Creature _was born. Seven Entities._

_An Orange snake._

_A Yellow parasite._

_A Red bull._

_A Blue bird._

_A Violet insect._

_An Indigo squid._

_And a Green shark-whale._

_She looked in wonder how the seven beings floated through the space, all of them expanding their lights. Some of them looked scary, like the parasite, the insect and the bull, but the insect was in fact very kind and lovingly, only wanting everything to be about love, like Musubi-nee. And the bull really didn't even know why he was always angry, so she only found it funny. Also, there was something very amusing in the way the parasite tried to be scary all the time._

_She really didn't like the snake, though. It was mean and didn't know how to share!_

_The bird was always serious and noble, talking about the future and always seeing the positive side of things, always ready to see the good in everyone. She thought that he could really teach Homura-nee a thing or two._

_The shark-whale was without a doubt the best of them, always brave, always fair, and always ready to protect others. It reminded her of her Onii-chan._

_But her favorite was the squid. It looked very funny, and he only wanted everyone to be friends with each other, to be like a family._

_She watched confused and worried how almost all of them started to fight between themselves._

_The snake who never shared anything fought against everyone, but seemed to really dislike the bird and was always trying to eat it. For his part, the bird was always ready to help the whale-shark, their lights growing stronger when they fought together, the two of them always facing against the scary parasite and sometimes against the angry bull, which seemed to be especially angry with the loving insect. She disliked him too, so they always fought pretty fiercely._

_Nobody seemed to hear the poor squid, the only one who wasn't fighting. All his pleas for everyone to stop, to be friends and be together, were ignored. Even when he told them that they needed to be united for the sake of the universe, they still ignored him._

_They were too busy fighting, each one for their own cause._

_She didn't understand. Why didn't they hear the squid? Weren't they all brothers and sisters? They all had been born from the White Light, so they had to be! Brothers and sisters were supposed to be together, to be good and happy! They weren't supposed to try to hurt each other!_

_And then, the most horrible thing happened. The Darkness came back. But this time, it was stronger than ever._

_And this time, there wasn't a White Light with the power to make it go away. Just Seven Lights that couldn't stop fighting between themselves._

_She saw with dawning horror how the Darkness started _devouring _the seven lights. She saw the snake falling first, all alone and without wanting anyone's help it was easy for the Darkness to devour her. That brought tears to her eyes. Maybe she didn't like her, but she didn't deserve that!_

_The squid tried to do something, to unite everyone to fight against the Darkness, but they couldn't. They had been fighting for so long that they were unable to truly trust and unite with the others._

_The Darkness took advantage of that, and she started to truly cry when the squid was drown by the ever-growing blackness._

_The bull and the parasite fell shortly after, all their fierceness and power useless against the might of the Darkness._

_Then, it was the insect's turn. She could feel her pain when not even the purest love was able to stop the Darkness, how her whole self was engulfed by it._

_She realized horrified that not only were they devoured: all the emotions which they represented, all those that derived from them, all their light… all disappeared with the fall of each one._

_Still, the bird and the shark-whale keep fighting, fiercely, refusing to fall against the Darkness._

_But in the end, they were alone. Just the two of them couldn't do it. And, for all his surety that everything would be well, the bird fell too, eaten by the Darkness in a brief moment of weakness._

_And so, even if he was all alone, the whale-shark refused to surrender. With all his Will, he fought, fought braver, fiercer and stronger than ever._

_It wasn't enough. She fell to her knees when he too fell to the Darkness, and when the green light was gone too, there was only silence._

_No emotions. No light. Just the infinite, all-encompassing darkness._

_Just the absolute Black of Death._

_Then, something even more horrible happened._

_The Darkness _talked_._

"**The Night will come. All will return to how it should be. All will be Death once again. And this time, there won't be anyone who will try to stop it."**

_And just when she thought that nothing could be more terrifying than that… the Darkness opened its eyes._

_It was looking directly at her._

"**I CAN SEE YOU, CHILD."**

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"screamed Kusano with all her might, tears running down her eyes while she sat up panting, looking around to find herself alone in Miya's room, countless sobs escaping from her mouth as she was unable to stop crying.

Barely a second later, the room's door slammed opened and a worried looking Miya let her eyes swept over the room, stopping upon seeing that Kusano was alone.

"Kuu-chan, what…?" the First Sekirei's words were brutally interrupted when the Emerald Blade himself burst through the floor of her room, twin swords at the ready, quickly scanning the room.

"Kuu-chan! Are you alright?!" cried Shirou, confusion evident in his voice upon seeing that there wasn't anyone trying to harm the little Sekirei in the room.

His confusion only grew when the blond child ran towards him and hugged him so tight that it would have hurt him if it wasn't for his Power Aura.

"Bwaaaah, Onii-chan, uh-uaaah! Do-don't let it come! The da-darkness, it's coming for me! Don't let it ate me like it ate the poor animals!" sobbed the little master of nature while Shirou awkwardly returned the hug.

"Shh, it's okay Kuu, it's okay. It was only a nightmare." muttered the Magus while dispelling his Green Lantern uniform and lifting the youngest member of his flock in his arms, smiling warmly at her. "The darkness isn't going to hurt you. You see?" he said, illuminating all the dark corners of the rooms with his ring. "There isn't anything there that can hurt you."

"N-no, Onii-chan doesn't understand… it's not what is in the darkness what comes… it's the Darkness, the Da-Darkness… i-it's coming…" there was such fear in Kusano's voice that Miya didn't even thought about the gaping hole in her bedroom while exchanging a worried glance with Shirou.

They knew that it wasn't anything more than a nightmare what had scared the poor Kusano so much, but…

Why did the little girls words… sounded so sinisterly true?

* * *

He was flying through the sky at great speed.

Somehow, he had been able to gain control of this device, this artifact that let other sentient beings to channel his power, and had been 'driving' it since the moment his awareness was restored.

Making it crash through a satellite and dozens more less important objects was totally intentional. Totally.

He didn't recognize this planet. He didn't even recognize this _universe_. He could tell that it wasn't his own, his power, and that of _the others_, was totally free in here, free of any user, free of other lesser beings wielding the Light.

Also,for some reason, his power was incredibly low, his memory strangely hazy… but that didn't bothered him. He never really was someone for thinking hard, so it didn't mattered.

But the matter with his power really worried him. That couldn't be allowed to continue.

So he would find a new Avatar. Someone worthy of being his host, his harbinger of destruction…

Someone worthy of spreading his **Rage**.

The ring had passed by a lot of possible candidates, they were apparently quite a few interesting creatures in this world… but he had made it keep going, ignoring them. They weren't what he was searching for.

He didn't knew why, but he could almost feel 'something' guiding him, making it go in this direction, over the sea, towards a big island where, apparently, a great lot of the _especial_ humans of this world seemed to have their principal stronghold.

Perhaps here he would finally find his new Avatar.

"_Emotional Discharge detected."_

Now, let's see what whatever was guiding him had in store for him…

And so, the sound of a bull's roar resounded through the night sky.

* * *

"How are you this morning, Kuu-chan?" asked a worried Chiho when everyone had finally sat in the table.

"Uhm, I'm better Chiho-chan." nodded the little Sekirei to the totally recovered girl, a tiny smile on her face, earning a worried glance from Shirou.

The Magus supposed that maybe all the 'excitement' from yesterday was what caused the little girl to have those strange nightmares of her, which he had been unable to made her talk about apart from some mumblings about 'animals' and 'Darkness'. He really hoped Kuu would be okay and better soon, and that it wasn't anything psychological or complex like that. He had never truly stopped to think about how to take care of a child, and, now that he thought about it, he knew so little about the subject that it almost frightened him.

Which was really ironic, considering that yesterday he essentially doomed everyone in the city.

It wasn't when he, in something of a panic attack, had rushed back to the city like a comet, after having recreated his helmet of course, ignored Homura's cry for him to stop, and stopped a roof from collapsing upon a poor family. A roof that had been half-crushed by his battle with Karasuba.

A combination of guilt and his 'normal' need to help those in danger had made him throw caution and good judgment to the wind and, ignoring the curses of his Ashura and the encouragement of his inner-Hero, the Emerald Blade had proceeded to use all the power that his ring could muster to try and save everyone and repair everything that his inability to stop Golden Shōkyaku, before things escalated so far, had caused.

Thankfully, the stunned and open-mouthed agents of MBI had stopped trying to order him to stop or surrender after he rescued the ninth person trapped under the debris using a giant excavator-construct of all things. They had apparently realized that he could do much more than they could for the people in danger, and much faster too.

He, for his part, had been amazed. He could do so much good, and with a scary easiness, for everyone with his powers! Thanks to his rapid reaction, which according to his ring was an exemplar behavior of a member of the Green Lantern Corps, no one had died, and all the injured only had minor wounds, which were quickly helped by the forces of MBI to receive medical attention. He was pleasantly surprised to see that his Sekirei had been there trying to help the people in distress too, maybe because he had inspired them with his actions or maybe because his emotions had been running wild through the link that connected them. He wasn't really sure.

He hadn't been really worried about that at all, no. After all, if Minaka could cover up all the shit that the Sekirei caused every day to the city, he was pretty sure that anything that his ring couldn't delete wouldn't get out of the city.

No, what had possibly doomed them all was something that he had ignored until almost three hours later, when he had been resting his breath back in the Inn and being happily praised by Chiho and Uzume about what he had done, even it if had been partially his fault to begin with, Miya had been preparing tea for everyone and Kusano had ran to sit in his lap. It was then that, just when Homura seemed to have regained her bearings to reprimand him again, that a nervous/grim-looking Matsu had entered the room, doohickey in hand, and had told him about The Half Minute.

Thirty seconds. Just thirty damned seconds in which his ring had been 'too stunned' as result of his breaking of Karasuba's fear illusion and his subsequent start in a battle level so great that required all of his Will focused in it, that all the 'secondary routines' had been temporary aborted.

Meaning, thirty seconds in which everyone who had been stupid/intelligent enough to not run screaming or look frozen upon them had been able to take pictures, and even a video, of the two flying warriors in green and yellow battling.

That wouldn't have been too much of problem in itself, because his ring had still proceeded to erase all of them once it had realized what was happening and restarted the process. What had been truly their doom had been something that had made him reconsider his opinions about the usefulness of technology as something positive.

Why hadn't anyone told him that you could instantly 'upload' images from your phone to the Internet?! Why had someone even invented such a, in his opinion, stupid function?!

Whatever had been the reason, the harm was done: in only a couple of hours, the internet had managed to scatter the undeniable proof that the world wasn't as normal as the Magus Association tried in secret to made everyone believe through thousands of 'websites'.

Matsu had needed almost ten minutes to convince and explain to him why there wasn't anything she could do about it with her powers and that no, the Internet wasn't really a sentient evil being directed by the Root to screw with his life even more.

Even with the absolute ignorance and hate for technology that most of its members shared, it was impossible that the people from the Clocktower didn't already knew about what had happening, because, citing Matsu's words, there was enough serious people in either side of the debate about if this images were a hoax or not to made I appear in the news. Worldwide.

They had even seen a short report about it this morning. Shirou was praying to every god he knew, and at to that bitch of the Root too, that the Association tried a more subtle approach to this and only sent a group to investigate in place instead of trying to kill most of the world's population. The scary part was that his Ashura seriously considered that as an option they could take.

Also, it had been almost all the residents of the Inn who had tried stop him when his ring had told him that, if he wanted, he could collapse all the network systems in the world to 'kill the Internet', that in his opinion was just another of the much bad-protected and dangerous creations of humanity in any universe.

He didn't understand why everyone (Sans Kusano, Akitsu and Musubi who seemed to not understand or not are about the issue) had been so scared and desperate for stopping him, and seemed so relieved when they succeeded. Yeah, maybe it was a really useful information resource, among other less savory things, but it wasn't as if Humanity couldn't keep on living without the Internet, right?

'Why do I feel as if someone is laughing at us for having that thought?'

'…_why do you insist in asking stupid and senseless questions to me?'_

"By the way, Chiho-san, how are you feeling today?" asked Shirou while suppressing a sigh and trying to ignore the talking of the two voices which existence he could no longer negate, not after how they had helped him to blow up the nightmare of that yellow bug.

"I feel great! Really Shirou-san, is as Ring-san told you, I'm already fine. I haven't feel these good in years!" as if to prove her point, Chiho got up from the table and jumped up and down rather childishly, enjoying the feeling of her recuperated body. She felt as if she could run a marathon and still keep going!

Then, she seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly sat up again, blushing madly under the amused smiles of most of the other residents and the happy grin in Uzume's face.

"Heh, you're so full of energy, Chiho-baby." purred the cloth Sekirei while snuggling her Ashikabi closer to her, making her squeak cutely. "I think I know exactly how to spend all that energy, heheh…"

"Oh, really?" the sudden increase in the pressure of the room made everyone tense and turn to see the smiling figure just behind the frozen Uzume and the confused Chiho. "My, I hope you're not referring to anything improper, Uzume-chan. Why, you already know what happens to those who don't respect the rules of Izumo Inn…"

_"You know Lantern Emiya, I think I'm starting to understand why the Sekirei Matsu finds this situations in your life so amusing."_ voiced the ring while Shirou looked with resignation how Uzume tried to appease Miya so that poor Chiho wouldn't be exposed to the horrors of the Hanya mask. _"Also, I just ran yet another health scan in the body of Miss Hidaka, and once again I assure you, she's already perfectly fine. It looks like you seriously underestimated the full potential of that magical sheath of yours."_

"It's not 'my sheath', ring; I already told you that." muttered the Magus while looking how Musubi happily revolved Kusano's hair, trying not to think about the original user of Avalonand what he had to leave behind. "And it's not that I underestimated its power, but I wanted to be totally sure that Chiho would fully recover, and forgive me if I was a little skeptical that it was so fast thanks to an alien ring modifying a supposed incomprehensible ancient mystery."

"_Be that as it may be, I think is already time that you get it out of her and put it inside your body once again. I would like to examine it further to see how exactly can we use Willpower to enhance its properties even more" _the rings words managed to get the not-anymore-sickly girl's attention, who smiled warmly and approached Shirou, ignorant of how cruel it was to leave her Sekirei alone in front of the smiling landlady.

"Ring-san is right, Shirou-san. I'm already okay, so you should take this back." as she said that, Chiho's hands set gently upon her chest, receiving a curios glance of Kazehana and Matsu, who were sitting at Shirou's sides today. "I have felt its warm, this feeling of ever-present comfort that it gives… and I'm sure that you really miss it, a lot. I have only had it with me for one day and I already do."

"Chiho-san…"

"Oh… that was… so beautiful!" squealed Kazehana while grabbing the surprised girl's hands "Chiho-san, you are a marvelous person, and I wish you and Uzume eternal happiness!"

"Ehem, thanks?"

"Fufufu, lately this soap opera has even more amazing twists!" giggled Matsu with a happy smile in her face, earning a similar one from Shirou, who stood up and gestured to Chiho to come closer, making her blush a little.

Of course, he, being Shirou, didn't realize that little fact.

"Well, then I suppose it's time to do this." declared the red-haired man while pointing his ring to his fellow Ashikabi. "Ready, Chiho-san? Ring, begin Avalon extraction-process, now."

_"As you wish, Lantern Emiya."_ acknowledged the Power Ring before a beam of green light connected him and Chiho, the later smiling softly as his Will soared through her body gathering the spiritual fragments in which the Noble Phantasm had dispersed and started to reform it, the tip of the sheath already visible while everyone looked once again at the process in wonder, Uzume just at the side of her Ashikabi…

And it was in that moment that someone practically blew up the door, before hurried steps resounded un the hallway and the door abruptly opened, showing an out of breath Seo, the Lighting Twins just behind him in similar states, and the almost death of exhaustion faces of Haruka and Kuno, whose existence everyone just remembered.

"Shirou, damn it, I'm sorry but I came as soon as I could! That bastard of Higa kidnapped your sister and…!" Seo's words were abruptly cut when he blinked and got a good look at the scene unfolding before him.

More precisely, Shirou, with a familiar looking ring in his hand, shooting green energy towards a girl that he didn't know, who had what appeared to be half a sword sticking out of her chest.

"What the fucking hell?!" voiced Haruka the exact thoughts of the usually unemployed man while Kuno screamed and fainted.

Everyone in the room stood in an awkward two seconds silence.

"Ehm… this isn't what it looks like?" started Shirou while his mind raced trying to find a solution to…"Wait… what did you just said about my sister?!"

"And that concludes another peaceful breakfast of our lives." darkly muttered Homura while all hell broke loose.

* * *

Higa tiredly sighed while Kakizaki debriefed him in the latest development of their 'activities' inside an office he had in this secluded building, where some of his more 'discreet operations' took place.

It looked like everything was going smoothly, Sahashi Yukari had been easily abducted while she was separated from their 'companions' during yesterday crazy events, which the man was sure were just an stupid intent of Minaka to made his stupid game more funny.

Flying people fighting with swords and energy beams? Hah! Higa still didn't knew what equipment the idiot in charge of MBI had used to simulate all that, but as it hadn't affected any building belonging to him and had even helped further his goals, he didn't really cared.

"… and after he managed to kick the third guard and send the poor bastard to the infirmary we managed to put her in the cell." finished Kakizaki, clearly wincing at the mention of the kicks of that crazy devil. "Her Sekirei is cooperating under the threat that we will hurt her if he doesn't… but the guards are starting to get a little unnerved by the things she says."

"Uhm? What are you talking about? Is just a stupid and delusional girl, barely out of adolescence, trapped in a cell, inside a building that is not only heavily secured but also protected by most of my Sekirei." counted the man while raising an eyebrow. "Why could she possible say to made grown up professionals felt nervous?

"Well, it's not so much as what she says as if the unnatural faith that she seems to have in it." muttered the secretary. "She repeatedly insists in that we are all screwed and that her 'Superhero' will come to kick our asses and save her."

"Is she referring to her brother?" questioned Higa with amusement.

"No, and that's the worrying part. She's talking about that Emerald guy." the pharmaceutical chief visibly snorted at that. "Ok, boss, I know what your opinion about that is, but since the hospital incident where we lost Kochou andthose two others, the guys had started to talk, and it turned even worse after what happened yesterday. I know you think that he is just only a stupid plot of Minaka to make things even more chaotic in the Plan, but what if…?"

"What if what, Kakizaki? You really expect me to believe that some guy suddenly found a ring that gave him superpowers and he just decided to use them to randomly help people?" Higa really felt like laughing at that stupid and silly notion.

This was the real world, not a manga! People who obtained any kind of great power used it for themselves and only for themselves, not tried to save the world or any shit like that!

In the real world, things like 'good' or 'bad' didn't exist, only the strong and the weak. There weren't things like magical-super rings, and even if they were, there obviously wouldn't be a thing as a Superhe…

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an explosion that made the whole building tremble, and almost threw both of them to the ground.

"What the hell was that?!"

Then, the screams started.

* * *

Emiya Shirou was someone who prided himself in being a person really hard to 'piss off'.

The only people that truly had managed to earn his fury had been a couple heroes from the past (And a certain one from the future) resurrected by a corrupted magical item of immense power, some crazy rogue Magus and a few lunatic undead.

So it was truly a feat that a normal human had managed to do it.

Of course, it should be mentioned that said normal human had kidnapped his, albeit a little crazy, younger sister, part from the family he had assumed was lost in the Fire so many years ago, and his pseudo-younger brother (He was still unsure what he was supposed to consider Shiina).

Also, it should be said that in the aforementioned cases he didn't have a Green Power Ring of Will.

So, it was a very reasonable reaction when the Emerald Blade blasted a perfectly round hole through a wall of the building in where his ring had told him that Higa had Yukari, and proceeded to shot green beams of pure Will to every stunned idiot within his range of vision.

Thanks the Guardians for the non-lethal mode of the ring beams. It was very helpful when you were angry but where still trying to not to kill a bunch of stupid men who only followed orders and probably had family too.

Huh, he would probably never had though like that before obtaining his ring, but he could perfectly see the logic in that reasoning while a rain of bullets bounced harmlessly off his Power Aura and he keep 'stunning' every goon in his path. It probably still hurt them like hell when they crashed against the walls or the roof, but he had more important things to worry about.

"_Operation *Absurdly Dangerous Rescue* has officially begun, everyone!"_ cheerfully announced his ring while he pinned a gaping Sekirei (It was impossible to mistake them with those clothes they wore.) against a wall and proceeded to blast Will directly into her crest, Terminating her. _"I hope everyone is ready to fulfill their part of the mission, and thanks once again to Sekirei Homura for the name's suggestion!"_

"… I'm not arguing with a talking ring about that, I'm not." growled the fire user though the communication system that everyone was using, connected between themselves, Matsu's room and their Ashikabi's helmet thanks to the ring. "Dammit Shirou, I should... I mean, _we _should be inside there with you, not standing out here doing nothing!"

"We already talked about this, Homura, nothing that they can use is a danger to me, and I'm not risking any of you getting caught in the crossfire." tiredly explained the Magus while blasting though another wall, producing more cries of panic in Higa's goons and Sekirei. "You all will make sure that no one escapes from the building and knock out anyone who tries to do it."

"Yes, Ashikabi-sama."

"Aww, no fair Shirou-sama! I wanted to fight someone too…! Ah, someone is trying to escape!" the screams of someone who received a 'light' punch from Musubi and crashed against something resounded in the background. "Heh, problem resolved!"

"That's good to know, Musubi." sighed Shirou while creating a dammed car-construct and crashing it against a pair of incoming and now stupefied Sekirei. "How it's all going in your end, Matsu?"

"Very good, Shirou-tan!" answered the bespectacled Sekirei, the same people as last time plus Haruka and Kuno present in her room, which was starting to get a little too cramped."I have all the exits covered and I'm ready to direct everyone if I see any of Higa's goons try to escape!"

"Woah, you really did call them 'goons' right? This almost feels as if we were part of some action movie or something!" cheerfully answered Kazehana before knocking out another of the poor so-called goons with a well-aimed burst of wind.

"... no one is really taking this seriously,right?" sighed Seo from where he was standing in a nearby rooftop, his uneasy Sekirei standing just behind him. "So, you're a Superhero, eh Shirou? Somehow, I'm not surprised in the least by that. Care to remind me again what am I doing here?"

"You're to distract MBI's forces when they come this way so that everyone escapes without being seen, I can't afford that anyone makes a connection to me if they saw them. My ring had already hacked their trackers so that MBI's computers think they are still in the Inn." clarified Shirou while shooting a sword against a barricade and making it explode, sending more of the poor and pained goons to dreamland. "And please, stop with your sarcasm Seo, I already told you that is complicated and can't tell you anything else now."

"Well, I for my part would really like to know what the hell is wrong with you!" shouted Haruka through Matsu's communicator. "First you're some sort of secret assassin and now you have superpowers?! I thought you were crazy, but now I'm the one who is questioning his own sanity!"

"Haruka, please calm down…" whined Kuno pathetically, being ignored as always.

"Hey, don't you dare to raise your voice to my husband, you stupid child!" growled an outraged Tsukiumi.

"Tsukiumi, don't be so mean with Klutz-chan's Ashikabi!"

"I'm Kuno, not a klutz!"

"Kuu wants to wish good luck to everyone! And watch out for the Darkness!"

"Hey, would you all please stop grabbing my mic?! I'm trying to organize a rescue operation here!"

"Heh, things can't stop being lively even in a situation like this, uh?"

"Uzume-chan, ple-please, don't do 'that', we're in a serious situation!"

"No, nothing here is serious. Nothing CAN be serious when my amazing wizard Ashikabi with superpowers is involved, heheheheh…!"

"Uhm, I think something is wrong with Homura… and what did she say about Shirou being a wizard?"

"Yay, Musubi just stopped someone from escaping again!"

"Ah. Me too."

"I'm the only one who is still sane in this madhouse?!" screamed Haruka.

"Believe me, I know how that feels." muttered the Green Lantern, ignoring the bickering that sounded through the communication network, before stopping to look towards a specific wall. "Ring, how many Sekirei does Higa still have? I lost the count a little time before…"

"_Just two, Lantern Emiya. Also, your sister is just behind this wall." _announced the ring while Shirou blasted through said obstacle, encountering a happy and not at all worried Yukari waiting there.

"Sahashi-san, are you…?"

"Emerald Blade! I knew you would come!" cried the girl happily before throwing herself against the startled Magus, interrupting him. "Honestly, I would have expected my Onii-chan to come, but I knew that with superpowers you would arrive first!"

"Ehm, yes, it's good to see that you're okay, Sahashi-san." sighed Shirou while trying not to groan upon her sister's antics. "Now we should hurry and find your Sekirei so that…"

"Mistress, something is happening, we have to get out of here!" shouted Shiina while blasting the normal door of the 'cell', before blinking surprised. "You! The emerald guy! Did you come here to help us again?"

"Shiina, you're okay!" while Yukari proceeded to hug her flustered Sekirei; Shirou used his ring to pinpoint the location of a certain someone in the building. "Don't worry, Emerald Blade just came and kicked all the bad guys asses! Hah, and those idiots didn't believe me when I told them! Who's the crazy one now, eh?!"

"Both of you, grab yourselves tightly, we're taking a shortcut." suddenly announced the superhero, before creating an emerald sphere around them and shooting like a cannonball through dozens of walls, making the Ashikabi and Sekirei pair scream/shout in delight, until they tore into what seemed a particularly wide room, where a gaping Higa and his two remaining Sekirei stood, probably in the process of escaping.

"Higa-sama, get out of here, we will…!" the unimportant Sekirei wasn't able to keep talking, before an array of green energy surrounded her, her companion and the suddenly panicking Higa, gagging and raising them in the air.

From behind his helmet, Shirou looked coldly at the man. It would be so easy to just snap a little the solid green light binding him and break his neck, killing him. In another dimension, in another situation, he would have probably done it, maybe even killing him without his knowing, doing something like shooting a Caladbolg to his head from a distance.

In another dimension, Shirou wouldn't have cared for the nervous/apprehensive looks in his sister and her Sekirei's faces, nor would have he had the power to do it in any other way.

(Un)Luckily for Higa, this wasn't Emiya Shirou the Ashura. This was the Emerald Blade, Green Lantern of the Space Sector 2814.

"Izumi Higa, by the power conferred to me by the Guardians of Oa upon this Sector of the Universe, I, as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, am sentencing you under the charges of kidnapping, extortion, and more Earth crimes that I would have the time to count." declared 'heroically' the Magus, reciting exactly the words that his ring had told him and his 'inner-Hero' had helped refine. "Unfortunately for you, in absence of a direct connection with the Guardians, I'm taking charge personally of your sentence. Ring, do it."

"_Processing… done, Blade. Let me inform you of your current situation, Izumi Higa. All the goods in your possession had just disappeared. All the money in the Bank accounts directly or indirectly belonging to you has been 'donated' to thousands of different charity organizations in the world, as well as any property under your name or that of your pharmaceutical company." _enumerated the ring, under the horrified gaze of Higa and the amazed one of Yukari. _"Also, all the evidence of your illegal actions inside and outside of the Sekirei plan had just been send to MBI and to proper governmental authorities, respectively, so you don't have to worry about not having anything to keep maintaining your life as a human being, I'm sure they will kindly provide it to you in jail."_

"And finally…" a charged course of green electricity coursed through the two Sekirei at Higa's side, making him squirm at seeing them suffering a Level 2 Termination. "You don't have any more Sekirei. I wish you a good day, Higa-san; I think there are some people out there that would happily receive you." finished Shirou before launching Higa through a wall and dispelling his gag, making him scream while falling to his dead… before green energy wrapped itself around him like a balloon and let him crash 'safely' in the middle of the confused forces of MBI, Takami included.

"That… was… the most awesome thing ever!" cried Yukari once she and Shiina recuperated from their stupor, while the Green Lantern helped them to come out through the same hole that Higa's exit had made, slowly depositing them in the street. "Emerald Blade, would you give your autograph?! I'm sure is going to be one of the most valuable things in the entire world in no…!"

"Yukari?! What the hell were you doing there?!" shouted an angry/worried Takami, followed by Natsuo and the remaining Disciplinary squad, while running towards her daughter, who froze and turned to look at her with a sheepish grim.

"He-hey mom! You're not going to believe what happened…!" started Yukari while a couple of guards raised the half-conscious Higa from the crater he had made.

"It wasn't your daughter's fault, Miss Takami." interrupted the Emerald Blade, making the two Sekirei present froze upon realizing that he was there "As the files and recordings that your company should be receiving right now, Izumi Higa was responsible for abducting her, as well as many more things I'm sure you would like to verify."

"You… you're the so-called Emerald Blade, right? I thank you for helping my daughter,but I will have to ask you to come with me, I have a LOT of questions regarding you, that ring of yours and the one which the woman you fought yesterday had."

"Sorry, but that won't be possible. Have a good day, Sahashi-san." before Takami could even begin to protest, Shirou was already a hundred meters in the air and moving away from the scene, like an emerald star. "…uff, I can believe I just did that, and it worked! Is everyone ok?!"

"Yeah, me and my girls managed to get away in time!"

"Hmpf, of course I'm okay! A task as easy as this is no problem for the strongest Sekirei!"

"Shirou, when we get back home you and I are going to have a LONG talk about doing things like this without…!"

"Homura, shut up!" suddenly shouted Matsu, the panic in her voice echoing through the communication network. "Shirou-tan, I just lost Musubi-tan's signal, and she is not answering!"

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Kakizaki thought that he was safe when he managed to get away from the building and, miraculously, lost sight of the Sekirei in the Miko outfit that was too distracted punching the three goons who came out before him to stop the secretary in time.

Then, just as he was starting to reduce his pace and turning a corner, a bright golden light blinded him.

The last thing the poor man saw was a yellow katana coming down and cutting him in two.

"Agh, come back here mister secretary, Shirou-sama told me to knock you out!" shouted Musubi while turning the corner, her eyes widening upon the sight of blood and the figure standing before the bisected corpse. "Karasuba-sa…?"

Musubi didn't even had time to finish her phrase before Golden Shōkyaku appeared before her and brutally slammed her body trough the side of a building, making it collapse upon her.

…_**why did you come all this way just to do that? Wouldn't it have been easier just to kill her?**_

"Shut up. I just wanted to Terminate her as painlessly as possible." muttered Karasuba while looking towards the ruble with something akin to guilt and regret in her face. "I… will no longer be able to fulfill my promise, and as… respect towards that and the one who sacrificed herself to save her, I decided to save her the pain of seeing how I would kill the one she 'loved', as she said." the Sekirei turned back and started to float slowly. "If she ever wakes up again, I hope she understand that her so called 'love' was just a worthless illusion."

…_**wait a minute… did you just say LOVE?**_

"Yeah, what about it?" answered Karasuba with confusion while something 'clicked' in Parallax hazy memory

_**GO BACK AND KILL HER, NOW, BEFORE SHE COMES FOR HER!**_

"What the hell are you talking abo…?"

Just then, a pillar of energy rose to the sky from the place where Musubi had crashed.

* * *

Musubi felt an strange blackness enveloping her, and finally realized that Karasuba had, apparently, tried to Terminate her (Her mind apparently didn't even consider the term 'kill').

Why would she do that?! Tha-that would separate her from Shirou-sama, and she didn't want that! Was it because Karasuba-sama still couldn't see the happiness of the power of love?!

Mou, that was really bad! That strange ring of 'Fear' that she had now should have been making her already poor capacity to see the wonders of the True Love that Shirou-sama could gave her even worse, she had to do something!

Suddenly, the words that her Ashikabi had said some time ago rang through her head.

"_Sometimes… love just isn't enough."_

No, that wasn't right! It wasn't Shirou-sama's fault that he himself was unable to see the beautiful wonder that was the Love he gave to her and all the others! She would prove that what he said was wrong to him and, especaillly, to Karasuba-sama!

Because there wasn't anything you couldn't accomplish with the power of Love…!

_**Well said, my child.**_

"Uh? Who are you?"

_**I'm The Predator, little one. And I'm happy. You're the worthiest being of using my Light that I have ever seen. Now open your eyes, and show the Avatar of Parallax the true Might of Love.**_

"Yay! I don't know who you are, but if you believe that much in Love I'm sure we will be great friends! Let's show Karasuba-sama how wrong she is!" happily declared Musubi while opening her eyes…

And seeing the shining star in the violet ring that floated before her, creating a spheric shield of crysta,l which had protected her from the collapsing building.

"_Musubi of the Earth. You have great Love in your heart…" _the childish Sekirei smiled while raising her hand, letting the ring gently put itself in her finger. _"Welcome, to the _**Star Sapphires."**

A glorious violet light engulfed Musubi, and she felt the most comforting warmness she had ever felt entering her body, the image of a scary-looking insect appearing in her eyes, before a shining lantern appeared out of a hole in the air and fell in her hands.

She let the words that he heard in her mind escape from her lips, and, even if it sounded complicated, she could perfectly understand them… because it was an oath about those who sought True Love.

_For Hearts long lost and full of Fright,_

_For those alone in Blackest Night,_

_Accept our Ring and join our Fight,_

_Love conquers all… With Violet Light!_

A great pillar of violet power tore through the rubble and pierced the heavens, and the stunned Karasuba's mouth opened widely upon seeing the floating figure of Musubi emerging from the light, wearing a violet 'uniform' that made even Uzume's Veiled Sekirei outfit look modest.

To help your imagination, the high-heel boots and the elbow-long gloves were what covered most of her skin, and it was a miracle that her breasts hadn't exploded out of the chest part of the outfit, which neckline arrived almost to her crotch, upon where the same eight-pointed star, with a circle in the middle, as the one in her ring shined proudly.

Some sort of mask-tiara that didn't seem to have any real use except being a decoration, because it didn't covered her face in the least, and a flaring aura of violet power completed the new look of the ultimate Warrior of Love.

"_Power Levels at 100% Warning, Emotional Levels of the User surpass any known scale, proceed with precaution."_ announced the calm voice of the ring, while Musubi opener her eyes, shining with unnatural violet power and the roaring image of the Predator, the Entity of Love and incarnation of the Violet Light of the Emotional Spectrum.

"Prepare yourself, Karasuba-sama!" shouted a determined Musubi while dismissing her Power Battery and letting violet crystals envelop her arms, forming a pair of great battle-gauntlets with spikes in the knuckles. "I'm going to show you and everyone… that love is ALWAYS enough!"

**Chapter End.**

* * *

Dun-dun-dun! The most powerful Star Sapphire has been born! We're all screwed! Also, something dark seems to be lurking in poor Kuu-chan's dreams, and there is an Entity controlling its ring and going full speed towards England! What will happen in the middle of all this madness?! Find out next time in this crazy fanfic!

Oh, and those who are disappointing that Higa didn't die, c'mon! I really didn't liked what Grabriel Blessing-sama did with him, and not only because it showed the darker and un-Shirou side of our protagonist, but because…a Caladbolg to the head?! The bastard didn't even realize he died! Green Lantern!Shirou had done something in fact much worse, he just ruined his entire life, let him live to know itand THEN he thrown him at an angry and sleep-deprived Takami. Woah, when I thought about it like that, my Shirou is a monster. Oh, and if someone wants to get a better idea of Musubi's 'uniform', google Star Sapphire, its better like that XP

Also, will the Clocktower have time to try and kill Shirou and everyone when the **Rage** explodes practically in their faces OwO?

Thanks everyone and see you all next time, this is Saint signing off, let the Light guide your lives towards a bright Future!


	9. Chapter 8: Unleashed Emotions!

Hello my dear readers, welcome once again to a new chapter of the Emerald Blade, first Superhero of a universe where the mere fact of trying to be a Superhero will probably get you and everyone that you care about killed (Really, it's amazing that we all still love the Nasuverse even after knowing well how fucked up it's, right? Then again, something about that it's probably what makes us love it XP).

Ok, once again lets go about some of the questions that were raised in the reviews: No, Shirou doesn't have a Will that surpass all of humanity combined, or that of the planet, it's just that Will alone isn't enough to become worthy of using a Green Lantern Power Ring, which technically is the Corps where most beings of the Universe can enter, what with being the center and the equilibrium of the Emotional Spectrum. You need to have a great Will AND be disposed to use the power to protect others before a ring deems you worthy. That's why none of our two beloved consciousnesses of the planet, whose only solution for everything is kill, kill and more KILL, weren't even looked at by the ring. Even Sinestro was originally chosen because he wanted to protect his Sector more than anything, albeit his definition of 'protecting' became twisted and fucked up

Also, it seems that some of the people had seem it, but to those who haven't, I will said it again: The Red and Orange Lights are parasitic, meaning, they don't need someone to be a lunatic-angry-Berserker or a Gollum-greed-bastard to be chosen as its wielder, you only need to have a little anger/desire inside you or being angry/greedy sometimes, and the ring turns you into a mad and raging beast or a avarice lunatic. To put an example, there is a talking cat-alien who is a Red Lantern, and I can assure you that there are thousands of more sinister and angry aliens in the DC Universe that weren't chosen over him. And people keep saying things about the dead Gilgamesh, but let me remind you that the most basic and primary form of Avarice is 'desire' Does that gives you a clue OwO?

Finally, a little thing from me. I know that I can't please everyone and that surely there would be people who doesn't like my story, that always happen to everyone, and I will happily welcome any constructive criticism, but please, I kindly ask to refrain from posting a review just to basically say 'This character is an idiot and this story should die'. That's not constructive-anything, it's just plain offending. I know that everyone has their own opinions, but there are more respectful manners of expressing them. Sorry to all the others who are enjoying the story for making you read this.

And with that said, I leave you all with the chapter. Let the Power of Love go wild! Go, Musubi-chan!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Unleashed Emotions! The Power of the Spectrum!** or _"Love is a beautiful thing… especially when used violently."_

The Power of Love.

A concept that a lot of people would take as a joke, usually used as reference in Anime/Manga and other fiction works.

It was something that, if you commented to someone who understood the truth of this fucked up world, especially some of those bastards Nobles from the Clocktower, would made you the object of laughs and mockery, while everyone underestimate or despise you for having such silly thoughts of fake delusions when True Power like Magic existed.

Fools, all of them. The Power of Love exists. It's a real thing, as tangible as Magic, Chakra, Ki, or any other power in the Multiverse. Also, it's arguably one of the most powerful energies in its entirety, as well as the one who can bring in equal parts eternal happiness and untold suffering.

There are some people in the Multiverse who can even blow up planets thanks to the Power of Love.

And before you ask, yes, the Power of Friendship is real too, even if it's not as powerful, but we aren't talking about that now.

In the universe from where the rings came from, the Corps known as the Star Sapphires used their rings to tap directly into the Violet Light, the purest form of the Love, one of the seven energies that formed the whole Multiverse.

Normally, a Star Sapphire Power Ring sought people who 'needed' love, because it was much easier for that sort of beings to comprehend the beauty of the emotion, and in turn manipulate the Light more easily. Practically all the members of the Corps were like that, because, sadly, a being that lived purely and totally by the true meaning and power that Love brought and that understood its meaning was something akin to fairy tale.

Clearly, the Star Sapphires had underestimated the vastness of the Multiverse. And clearly, no one had told them that it was a bad idea that their rings could choose someone like that…

"Super Fist of Pure LOVE!"

"What the…?!" BOOM ! "GAH!"

CRASH! CRASH! BAM!

Because clearly, they didn't know of the existence of the being known as Musubi, Sekirei Number 088 and, in Emiya Shirou's humble and professional opinion, someone totally and utterly 'Distorted' to believe that Love was the solution to everything.

The poor Magus should have known better than saying things like that out loud. Some higher power out there was bound to heard him and made it come back to bite him in the ass.

"How… the hell… did she do… that…?!" groaned Karasuba while trying to stand, feeling as if an stampede of overweighing elephants had just slammed against her.

Also, she had the feeling that she just went through at least a dozen buildings, it was difficult to be sure when you were trying to get what remained of the last one out of you.

**_By the Spectrum's name! What the hell is wrong with the beings of this Universe?! First the Avatar of Ion has a Will like a cracked world and now the Predator's one has more Love than the ring can canalize?! Give me a break!_**

"Wait… I think I heard you wrong…" muttered the Sekirei while finally getting out of the totaled building, which luckily for everyone was an old one which was going to be demolished. "You didn't just say that LOVE is actually something real, like, an actual power, right?"

**_What?! Of course it is, you idiot, it's as real as you and me! Of course, my Fear is much better than that because… eh? Karasuba?_**

"Love… is real… it's actually real…" the actual meaning of Parallax words was going through Golden Shōkyaku's mind like a speeding car, the realization about what always brought surety to her believe of being superior, that the emotion that so many of the other Sekirei, even Yume, believed ruled their life, was just an stupid illusion which didn't deserve any effort.

And just know, the Incarnation of Fear Itself had told her that not only it was real, but that the Incarnation of Love, of all fucking things, had decided to choose Musubi, little stupid childish Mu-chan, as its Avatar.

Considering that the pillars of her life had just taken a huge blow, one couldn't really blame her for not seeing the next hit coming. Or maybe it was because said punch came at a speed of almost 200 Km/h?

"Wake up, Karasuba-sama! Let the Love open your eyes!" shouted Musubi with all her might, practically materializing from nowhere in front of the Sinestro Corps member and stamping her right fist in her stomach for the second time in 50 seconds, catapulting her upwards at a speed that would have made Rider proud. "Ring-chan, we need to go up, and fast, Shirou-sama wouldn't like it if we accidentally hit someone who isn't fighting!"

_"Affirmative."_ acknowledged the ring before the newest member of the Star Sapphires shot to the sky like a bullet, going directly towards the still ascending and stunned Karasuba.

"Okay, now we need to make sure Karasuba-sama understands the glory of Love! Ring, give all the Love you can to my fist!"

_"Affirmative. Canalizing Emotional energy to the user's fist. Warning, the Spectrum Levels are abnormally high, precaution is suggested before…"_

**_Karasuba, get out the way, NOW!_**

"Ugh… damn it!" roared the Avatar of Fear before opening her wings and starting to unsheathe her katana…

"GO! Star Punch of Absolute Love!" Musubi's voice rang through all of Shin Tokyo at the same time that her fist shot forward…

… and a fucking beam of violet light as wide as a skyscraper roared free.

"HOLY SHIT!" screamed Karasuba while putting all her power in the ring and evading he attack by only a couple of meters, staring wide eyed at how it keep going upwards.

Outside of the atmosphere, three more of MBI's satellites were suddenly put out of commission when the beautiful thing that is Love disintegrated them down to the tiniest particle, and still kept going through the void of space.

"Woah… that was cool." smiled Musubi while floating happily and watching the pretty light-show that her Anti-Army punch of Mass Destruction had caused.

_"This unit suggests that you don't try doing that while inside the atmosphere or while aiming at the ground, Sapphire Musubi. The collateral damage could be considered *excessive* and dangerous."_

"Oh, ok ring-chan." blinked the alien girl, not really understanding what the ring said, while looking around. "Did you saw in what direction Karasuba-sama went?"

**_She's coming this way to try to bisect you, my child._**

"Ah, thanks Predator-chan!" cheerfully answered the Love Sekirei before turning around with inhuman speed; letting her crystal gauntlets clash brutally against Karasuba's katana, who was looking at her with clenched teeth.

"God damn it! How the hell did you do that?!" cried the Sinestro Corps member before starting to rain a flurry of slashes upon Musubi, which she evaded and countered with a speed and reflexes out of this world. "And how did you suddenly became so fucking strong?!"

"It's all thanks to the Power of Love, Karasuba-sama! Don't you understand, how beautiful it's?!" mighty shouted the Star Sapphire while suddenly tripling the size of one of her gauntlets and brutally launching the Sekirei Number 004 through the air, who brutally crashed against a building. "Can you see how great it's now?"

"I… can see stars…" growled the woman while standing up, a lot of people around her looking open-mouthed and making her realize she had fallen in a Shopping Centre. "What the hell are you looking at?! Get the fuck out of here before I kill you all, humans!"

"Woah!"

"She said humans, you heard her, right?! I was right, the aliens are coming!"

"Out of the way, run everyone!"

"Shh, I'm trying to film and upload this in my Blog!"

**_You should kill them all the same just for being so stupid. Fucking humans…_**

"Stop whining, Parallax, and start telling me what the fuck happened with Mu-chan!"

**_Her emotional levels of the Violet side of the Spectrum are insanely high; I have never seen something like that. In terms of raw Light power she is far ahead of you-_**

"Are you kidding me?! So what, she just got a brutal Power Up just for being a dumb love-maniac since her childhood?! What kind of messed up logic is that?!"

**_Calm yourself, damn it! Maybe she has more raw power, but I can tell that she's nothing like you in terms of skill or brain, so stop trying to overcome her with brute force and start using you head!_**

"… and what exactly do you suggest me to do?"

**_You have got a ring that let you shape the Fear of the Universe at will using only your imagination, Sekirei! Stop only using it to change the form of your fucking sword before…!_**

"LOVE IMPACT!" resounded through the air while Musubi entered the building by collapsing a wall, eliciting more cries of shock/admiration, and a lot of not-so-concealed drooling stares for part of the male population present, which rapidly begun to flash their phone's cameras towards the Star Sapphire. "Was that enough, Karasuba-sama, or do you still need to feel more Love to understand how wonderful it is?"

**_… How can anyone able to say a phrase like that after doing so much damage, WIHTOUT being sarcastic, exists?_**

"The girl had a bad childhood." was all the answer that Karasuba gave before lashing out with her ring and let a flock of giant three-eyed yellow crows loose in the air, eliciting screams of panic as they attacked anyone stupid enough to not run away, and primarily Musubi.

"Woah! Bad birds, bad birds, why don't you feel the Love?!" cried Musubi while punching every crow that came her way, blowing them up even if some managed to push her back.

**_Ok, that's a good start. Now, why don't you try with something that, I don't know, makes ACTUAL DAMAGE?!_**

"Hey, if you think you can do better than do it yourself!" the Sekirei smirked at the lack of retort. "Just what I though." she added before every crow grew razor-blade teeth and claws.

"Augh! That hurts!" the Warrior of Love grabbed the side of her body, where one of the birds had managed to slash her, and reeled back while still punching with her other hand. "Why did that hurt? I thought the funny light protected me!"

_"Warning, erratic use of the unbalanced Spectrum Levels is causing distortions in the Power Aura. Restoring the balance in the energy output is suggested."_

"What?" simply said Musubi, not understanding a word of what her ring had said.

**_It means that you have so much Love Power that the ring can't correctly balance it by itself. You need to let it flow through your body better, Musubi._**

"OH! Thanks for saying that, Predator-chan!" happily smiled the Sekirei, flying through one side of the building while grappling against an especially big crow, before crashing against an electronic sign with Minaka's face, crushing it. "Why don't you learn to talk a little more like her, ring-chan? That way I could understand you more easily!"

_"This unit will do what it can, Sapphire Musubi."_

"You can call me Musubi-chan! We're friends now!"

_"Affirmative. New designation *Musubi-chan* accepted in the memory."_

"Yay! Now, maybe I should put you a name too, or…?"

"Can't you concentrate in the fucking fact that I'm trying to kill you?!" roared an angry Karasuba while exiting the building by unnecessarily making another hole in it, dozens of terrified cries behind her.

"You are?" asked Musubi, truly surprised.

"… yes Mu-chan, I'm."

**_… you don't sound really convinced about it, you know._**

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you fucking alien parasite!" growled the gray haired woman before raising her sword and creating a giant projection of it, as big as the building behind her, and letting it fall fiercely against Musubi.

The Star Sapphire quickly raised her hands and with a shout of 'Love Barrier!' erected what looked like a giant violet crystal heart in the way of her weapon, stopping it and making her hands felt like she had just put them through a meat-grinder.

**_Can you please stop with the fucking 'make-a-bigger-sword' thing?! I thought we already agreed that it's not working!_**

"Don't do that, Karasuba-sama, you could hurt someone!" protested Musubi, before carelessly tossing aside the giant crystal heart, which crashed against the street and made the already out of control traffic go wilder.

**_… she really is that dumb, right? She's not, like, faking it to try and make you lower your guard or something?_**

"Well, what now, Mu-chan?" said Karasuba while ignoring the silent plea in Parallax's words. "Maybe I can't stop you while you're wearing that damn ring, but you can't hope to defeat me either! What are you going to do, keep punching me until I see the 'Love' your way?"

A strange an eerie silence answered Golden Shōkyaku's question, who for some reason felt REALLY unnerved.

Then, Musubi's face turned into a happy grin while she raised her hands, more spikes sprouting violently out of her crystal gauntlets.

Karasuba felt a bead of sweat fall down her forehead.

**_Oh, sweet Spectrum, she REALLY is serious!_**

Thankfully for the poor inhabitants of Shin Tokyo, it was in that moment that an emerald blur slammed into the street between the two fighters.

* * *

"Boss, you're not going to believe this, but the Number 004 just appeared in the center, and she's fighting against…!"

"Musubi. With another of those fucking rings. I know, I'm watching. Hic!" Mamoru stopped dead in his track upon entering the CEO's office, his eyes widening upon the sight of the man, half slumped against his seat with a bottle of sake in his hands and looking at a personal computer's screen.

"Sir? Are you… drinking?"

"Yes, Mamoru, I'm, hic! You got a problem with that?!" asked the gray-haired man to his secretary in an attempt to look angry, ruined by the fact that he apparently couldn't even sit straight.

"Ehm, no sir, it's just that, well, you don't drink." muttered the ex-technician, inwardly wondering if Miss Takami would take much longer in coming back.

"The Sekirei with the lowest I.Q. of the planet just got chosen by a weapon that allows screwing with the laws of reality as we know it just by imagining it, so excuse me for trying to forget how everything is going to hell before we all die."

"… why would we all die, sir?" couldn't help but ask Mamoru, hoping it would stop the man from keep drinking.

Minaka seemed to regard him from behind his glasses for a moment.

"You know, hic, yo-you are a good guy, Mamoru. You're a simple worker who does his job when told to and never complains; s-so I think you at least deserve to know why you're going to die." the man let the computer on the desk, letting Mamoru see how the Number 088, dressed in a really 'interesting' outfit, threw the ex-Black Sekirei trough the side of a Shopping Centre. "The world as you know it, hic, it's all a lie!"

"…what do you mean, boss?"

"A-all of it, hic, it's a lie that the guys in England are happy everyone believes! There are wizards, monsters, alien-vampires, and all kind of shit like that roaming around, but they kill or brainwash everyone who discovers the truth, like they had been doing for hundreds of years!" dramatically revealed Minaka while extending his arms. "Everyone thinks the world is a happy place, when the truth is that we live in a fucked and horrible reality where even the planet is trying to, hic, kill us!"

"Aham, incredible sir, I would have never expected that." sighed the secretary, once again lamenting not having chosen a better work in his life. No matter how much they paid him, hearing his crazy boss' deluded fantasies wasn't worth it. "And I suppose that, now that these rings have appeared and there are two Sekirei and an unknown using them in public, those wizards from England are going to come and kill us?"

"YES! That's exactly while they are going to do, hic! They will set the city on fire, or made it explode, or something, and then they will make it all look like it was just an accident!" just them, an emerald blur appeared in the middle of the two fighting ring-Sekirei and the screen suddenly was filled with only static. "And it's all THAT stupid emerald bastard's fault, hic! Heh, let's see how much he still wants to be a hero when he's strapped to a bed about to be, hic, dissected and… and… Zzzzz…"

"… I really should have heard my mother and took that job as a painter in Fuyuki." the man couldn't help but say aloud before starting to call someone to take his boss to the infirmary.

He really hoped Sahashi-san would return soon.

* * *

The brutal sounds of battle echoed through Shin Tokyo while a MBI car quickly headed towards the company headquarters.

A beam of light big enough to swallow a skyscraper illuminated the city for a moment.

"Mooom, pleaaaase…!"

"NO means no, Yukari, I'm not letting you go. You're coming back to MBI with me until this craziness ends." firmly declared Takami while eyeing the rear-mirror, hoping that the agents she left behind were smart enough to not try to interfere directly in whatever the hell was happening.

The sound of something crashing through a lot of walls and another flare of violet light made the woman wish she had a cigar.

"There is a battle of Superheroes going on and you're denying me the opportunity to see it with my own eyes! That has to be the most unfair thing in the world!" protested Yukari while flailing her arms.

"Mistress, please, hear your mother words." muttered Shiina, who not only looked relieved of she being out of Higa's clutches, but also currently distancing from whatever was happening in the city. "I'm sure she has your best interest in her…"

"BRzzz, crack…! Miss Takami!" suddenly resounded through the car's radio, making the woman blink and quickly grab it.

"Takami here, can you tell me what's happening?"

"It's… oh god!" the sound of something violently crashing filled the radio's speaker, making the scientific wince and wish that no one had been crushed. "I-it's the Number 088, she has got some kind of violet ring and she's using it to fight against Karasuba!"

"… sorry, I think I didn't heard you right. Did you just say that _Musubi_ got one of those physics-defying rings?" asked the woman while developing a deep tick-mark in her right eyebrow.

"Ehm, yes?" the sound of another violent crash in the background made the agent to suddenly gasp in relief. "Oh, thanks god, that Emerald Blade guy just showed up! I thought for a moment that _we_ would have had to intervene before…!"

The radio signal suddenly went dead, leaving only a shocked Takami and a silent Ashikabi-Sekirei pair in the equally silent car.

Three different colored flashes of light suddenly shot up to the sky somewhere far behind them.

The silence was finally broken by a really angry Yukari.

"Musubi-chan?! THAT Karasuba?! No fair! Why is everyone getting superpowers except me?! I would use them better than anyone!" growled the girl while letting her face crash against the back of her mother's seat.

Sometimes, Takami really didn't know which of her sons give her the most headaches.

* * *

Shirou was feeling another headache coming his way. The bigger one since the ring had entered the living room of Izumo Inn the first time.

The moment Matsu informed him that Musubi had disappeared, he had been about to order his ring to localize his most energetic Sekirei when suddenly a strangely familiar alarm had come from it and a familiar shout of _'Spike in the Emotional Spectrum detected!'_ made him froze in mid-air.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?! There is another of those yellow rings around?!"

_"No… the source of this distortion is… Violet? Are you kidding..?"_

That was the moment when a pillar of violet light rose to the sky with amazing power, perfectly visible from the entire city.

Shirou stood floating in the air looking frozen at that for couple more seconds.

"Ring… what the hell is going on?" 'calmly' asked the Magus.

_"Ehm, it looks like someone has suddenly come in possession of a Star Sapphire Power Ring. They are another Corps from my home universe, and their rings let them tap into the Violet Light of Love of the Emotional Spectrum. Also, whoever it's that has been chosen has the highest Emotional levels ever recorded."_

"… LOVE is an actual real energy?!" was the first thing that could clearly come out of the red-head's mouth, something that by the way was being repeated a lot today. "I can understand things like Will or Fear, but Love? Really? And wait a minute, how many of those fucking Corps are?!"

_"You live in a world with secret Magic societies, alien-Vampires and a psychopath consciousness. It's so hard to believe that Love is a power source in another one? Also, there is a total of seven Corps that… that…"_ the ring's voice once again sounded uncertain. "_Wait a minute… dammit, it's this dammed Memory-blocking-thing again? I know about the others Corps, I'm sure, but for some reason I can't access any data about the other four! It's like I couldn't even remember about the Star Sapphires until I detected the other ring's signal and…!"_

The ring's interesting rambling was suddenly interrupted when a blast of energy bigger than most of the city's buildings screamed through the air.

"What in the Root's name?!"

_"Something tells me that the new ring bearer doesn't quite know the meaning of the word 'moderation'." _sarcastically said the ring, making something in Shirou's mind click with dawning horror.

"Oh no… No moderation, absurdly lack of care about secrecy, Power of Love…? No, please fucking Root no…" the fear was really evident in the Green Lantern's words as he flew through the sky towards the source of the screams of help/terror and the sound of walls breaking. "There's no fucking way that any damn high advanced technological-whatever can be stupid enough to…!"

"Love Barrier!" resounded through the street just at the side of a Shopping Centre, confirming Shirou's worst fears upon seeing a crystal heart-shield raise itself from nowhere and brutally stop the slash of a giant yellow katana. "Don't do that, Karasuba-sama, you could…!"

_"… Lantern Emiya, please tell me there is a grave failure in my image-receiving sensors and that I'm not seeing Sekirei Musubi with a Power Ring fighting against *Golden Shōkyaku*." _pleaded the suddenly nervous ring.

"…what the hell is she wearing?" flatly asked the Magus while looking how Musubi was proudly dressed in a costume that clearly violated all decency standards for humans and maybe even for Sekirei too.

_"That's one of the standard versions of the Star Sapphire Corps uniform."_

"In what universe is that an uniform?!" cried Shirou while resisting the urge of facepalming. "Never mind that, I have to stop them before someone get hurts or worse!" and without saying more, the Emerald Blade brutally launched itself between the two ring-bearing-Sekirei, making them blink in surprise while he 'epically' rose to his feet.

'That's what I call an amazing entrance, yahoo!'

_'The Association isn't going to kill us, no; they are going to find a re-definition of the word just for us…'_

'Oh, shut up! Let's save the day, Shirou!'

"YOU!" growled Karasuba, looking warily towards the suddenly appeared Superhero.

"Ah, hello, Shir…!" Musubi was unable to finish running her Ashikabi's secret identity thanks to a quickly applied patch of green energy upon her mouth, which made her flail wildly through the air while trying to talk.

Shirou approached her without removing his gaze from the Sinestro Corps member, silently thanking the heavens that his energetic Sekirei didn't seem to have enough brain to just tear up the gag.

"Musubi, please, don't say my name while I'm looking like this, Ok?! It's supposed to be a secret!" quickly remarked the Green Lantern once he was at the Star Sapphire's side, who looked at him with a confused face before brightening up and nodding, making Shirou retire the construct upon her mouth with a little of wariness. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"Not at all, Shi… I mean, Emerald-kun! I was just showing Karasuba-sama the beautiful thing that is Love!" happily explained the Sekirei, making Shirou resist once again the urge to facepalm. "Thanks to Predator-chan and Ring-chan, I'm finally able to show her what a wonderful thing Love is!"

"Predator-cha…? Ok, it doesn't matter now, just… don't move or do anything else, ok?" Shirou could be called a lot of things, from dense to idiot, but he could perfectly grasp that it wasn't a good idea to leave Musubi running around with a weapon that could perfectly let someone to level all of Japan and that worked with Love, of all things, as a power source.

"Eh?! Why?! I was just about to convince Karasuba-sama that love it's the most wonderful thing in the universe!" whined the busty Sekirei while puffing her cheeks.

The Magus was sure that there had to be a law somewhere that impeded a grown up woman dressed in something like 'that' from looking so cute.

"Musubi, that's not the problem, you just can't…"

"I'm still here, you know." growled the forgotten Sinestro Corps member, punctually ignoring the strange feeling of annoyance that she felt at seeing Shirou totally ignoring her in favor of talking to Mu-chan. She was only feeling angry because he wasn't fighting her, yeah… "But you can keep talking all lovely dovey all day if you want, I'm out of here!" declared her while shooting up to the sky in a flurry of golden light.

"Wha…?! Dammit, I won't let you escape again!" answered the Emerald Blade while flying after her at max speed, like an emerald beam of justice.

"Ah, Shi… I mean, Emerald-kun, wait for me!" cried a startled Musubi while shooting after the two most important persons in her life, unnecessarily destroying more of the brutalized street in her take off.

Finally, the MBI agents deemed that, now that the crazy super powered guys had decided to take their battle elsewhere, it would be a good moment to start helping the civilians to get out of the zone.

"What, trying to come after me now? I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood!" cried Golden Shōkyaku while turning around and letting a flock of strange and razor-filled crows fly against the Green Lantern.

"I'm not playing any more games with you, Karasuba; you're a danger to everyone as long as you have that ring!" was the answer that the Magus gave while Will-Tracing a barrage of emerald swords to skewer the fear-constructs, making Karasuba wince from the feedback. "So, you can surrender it and walk away or…" Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in his hands "… I will have to Terminate you."

_'You're really giving her the option?! C'mon, you know as well as I that she's too dangerous to just let her go!'_

'It's a little cruel… but I don't think we could just convince her to be good even if we defeat her… unless…'

_'No. You're NOT suggesting what I think you are suggesting.'_ firmly declared the Ashura while looking at the hero-kid.

'Yes I'm! We can save Karasuba too! We just have to…!'

"Nooo, Emerald-kuuun, stop!" cried Musubi while suddenly materializing out of nowhere between two and crashing a giant 'Stop' sign of violet crystal in both of their faces. "You can't Terminate Karasuba-sama, she deserves happiness too! Let me finish showing her the marvels of Love so you can wing her!"

"What?!" Shirou only had to take a look to the Love Sekirei face to know she was serious. "Mu-Musubi, I don't really think that's possible. She doesn't want…"

"YES SHE WANTS! She just doesn't know it yet!" the girl's scream was enough to make the Green Lantern pause in surprise, looking at the strangely serious face of his Sekirei. "When Yume-sama saved me… when she went away… I promised it. I promised myself that I would show Karasuba-sama the beautiful thing that is Love so she never had to look so sad again!"

"Sa-sad…?" muttered the Emerald Blade in utter confusion.

"Stop saying all that nonsense!" suddenly shouted the Sekirei 004, her voice filled with hate and... regret? "I was never sad because of HER! She was just an idiot, throwing her life away while spouting nonsense about that stupid Love! I don't need it! I don't need to depend on anything or anyone else to be complete!" her declaration was finalized when she pointed her ring at Shirou and let a concentrated lance of yellow light shot towards him, the tip spinning and deforming brutally.

"Damn!" growled Shirou, quickly realizing that a construct-shield wouldn't stand a chance against an attack so brutal. "Rho Ai…!"

"I won't let you!" shouted a determined Musubi, the Star Sapphire suddenly appearing once again in front of Shirou with that inhuman speed that the ring gave her, surprising him. "Love conquers all, with violet Light!"

Almost as if it was an Aria on her own, a concentrated beam of violet light burst out of both of the Sekirei's gauntlets at the words, the tip acquiring the shape of some sort of fiery insect's head, crashing against Karasuba's one and starting pushing it back, making the gray haired woman growl.

"I'm not letting your stupid inferior feeling beat me!" she roared while the tip of her beam changed form into Parallax's head, brutally biting into the Predator-shaped beam and slowing it down… but not stopping it. "God dammit, no! I need more power!"

**_Well, you're not going to get any just from shouting! I already told you, her Emotional levels are too high, which probably has something to do with the fact that her mind it's like that of a little kid!_**

Ignorant of the ongoing debate between the Entity of Fear and his Avatar, the Emerald Blade just stood there, unsure of what to do or of what would happen if he disrupted the clash of light-energy between the Sekirei.

"It's over, Karasuba-sama!" proclaimed Musubi while her beam started to brutally crush the yellow one. "Don't worry, when this is over everyone is going to be…!"

**_My child, stop!_**

"Eh?" was all that the Love Sekirei could say before her beam suddenly broke in a thousand of shiny sparks, Karasuba's one roaring free through the distance separating them and slamming against her chest with the force of one of Heracles' punches, throwing her back towards the earth with an exploding burst of air, passing by a shocked Shirou.

_"Warning, Power Levels at 2%."_ monotony announced the ring while Musubi's Power Aura vanished and she fell, like a bird whose wings had been cut.

"MUSUBI!" screamed the Magus while shooting after her as fast as he could, leaving a dumbstruck Karasuba standing there.

"What the… what just happened?"

**_… I can't believe it… her Emotional Levels were so fucking high that the ring couldn't regulate them right, so she was spending unnecessary amounts of energy like water from a fountain! Talk about idiotic luck!_**

"Yeah… luck…" muttered Golden Shōkyaku while looking at the emerald blur going down, distancing from her even more, and ignored the strange clenching in her heart at seeing that. "I don't need anyone. Just my power…" she suddenly looked up, an idea popping in her mind. "And I'm going to show it to them." somberly declared the Sekirei while shooting upwards.

**_Hey… what the hell are you doing?_**

"Didn't you complain that I didn't use my ring for anything more 'creative'? Well, I think I just found how to make thousands of humans to scream in fear…"

* * *

"Got you!" Shirou's voice was filled with relief when he finally caught the half-conscious Musubi, barely 840 meters from the ground, the harshness of falling from that height without any protection against the air pressure having taken its toll in the poor Sekirei.

_"Power Levels at 1%. Immediate recharge required."_ the voice of the violet ring seemed to be the signal the 'uniform' the Love Sekirei was wearing to disappear in a violet shine, leaving her in her normal clothes.

"Shirou… sama… I'm sorry…" weakly muttered the girl while looking at him with tears in her eyes.

"Shh, it's okay Musubi, it's okay…" muttered the Ashikabi while embracing the girl and carrying her to ground-level. "I'm just glad that you aren't hurt…"

_"Hmm, it seems that her Emotional levels are so unstable that she spent what should have been a 48 hours charge in less than one. It's a problem she would need to control…"_ explained the ring while Shirou looked around; ignoring the gaping stares he was receiving.

"I don't care about that, ring, and I think that it would be better if she doesn't use that violet ring again. It was dangerous for her and for everyone else that…" the Magus froze when his senses screamed and made him to look up, his gaze fixed in 'something' in the sky. "What…?"

_"Lantern Emiya… all of MBI's satellites upon Japan suddenly went down, and a lot of other ones too."_ the rings voice sounded really ominous while he said that, almost as if a warning about something.

"What does that mean? Why would…?" the Green Lantern's words were suddenly interrupted when someone screamed and pointed to the sky, making him look up once again.

His eyes widened. His legs suddenly felt heavy. His breath got caught in his throat.

There was a giant fireball falling from the sky. His reinforced eyes and the data the ring showed in his helmet letting him see that it was a deformed mass of metal almost as big as one of the city's biggest buildings, and it was falling fast. Really fast.

Less than 4 minutes until the impact.

_"That crazy bitch… she's insane, something that big falling from the atmosphere will totally eradicate the entire city and anything in hundreds of kilometers!"_ Shirou didn't even hear his ring's voice or the sudden shouts of panic and terror of the suddenly running people in the street.

He just grabbed the now unconscious Musubi's body tighter.

"Ring, call Matsu. Tell her to call the others to come to pick up Musubi." coldly muttered the Magus while putting his second Sekirei in a nearby bench and caressing her cheek before determinately looking up.

He had a duty to accomplish and a city to save.

The Emerald Blade shot once again to the sky, flying against the incoming faux-meteor…

Up in the atmosphere, Golden Shōkyaku stood silently, looking with indifference towards the falling work of art in which she had converted all the satellite that were orbiting upon Japan, her ring letting her heard the thousands of screams of terror and panic that were resounding down there.

**_THIS IS GREAT! All that terror, all that FEAR they're experiencing at their impending doom… it's marvelous! I can feel it, feeding me, returning my power bit by bit…! Can you feel it too, Karasuba?_**

"Yes…" answered the Sinestro Corps member with an empty voice, the symbol of Fear shining in her eyes. "I can feel it…

_"Warning, Spectrum Levels of the user rising…"_

**_Excellent, heh, heh. heh…_**

A sinister laugh was lost in the soundless void.

* * *

Rin Tohsaka was having a bad day.

First, there hadn't been any milk in the fridge, so the non-morning-person Magus had had to use coffee to start her day, and it had let her with a bitter taste in her mouth during all the stressful activities that her routine in the Clocktower imposed upon her.

Those damn stuck up bastards! If they believed she hadn't noticed that they were trying to use void excuses so that Shirou's Sealing Designation wasn't put under her custody, they had a big one coming. It was only a matter of time now, she was sure, and with the help she had from Lord El-Melloi II it wouldn't be long before she and Saber, who was out shopping right now, would be able to start searching for Shirou.

Shirou… just remembering the red-haired man's name brought a mixture of sadness and yearning to the girl's face.

It wasn't fair that, after all that hey suffered in the Grail War, all the battles, the loss and, finally, the happiness that they managed to achieve, it was all taken away from them by those thrice damned Einzbern. She knew that having Shirou just in the face of the Clocktower when his Reality Marble was practically a giant beacon to all those greedy bastards was a really bad and stupid idea, but she simple hadn't been able to left him behind.

When he told her, years ago, that he accepted her proposition to become her apprentice and come to England with her and Saber, it had been one of the happiest moments in her life.

The day that the idiot with a Hero complex has been forced to leave, leaving them behind after managing to convince them that they shouldn't ruin their lives for him, had been the worst.

But she had keep going, determined to, as she had told him, find a solution to his problem and fix it. Soon, they would once again be together and everything would turn back at how it was…

… why did she felt as if someone was laughing at her right now?

While mumbling things about stupid ghost-laughs and idiotic red-heads, the Japanese Magus started drinking a glass of water and absently seated in the couch of the living room, grabbing the newspaper that Saber had bought that morning (She always insisted in being informed of the state of the world or something like that) but still not read.

She spitted all the water she was drinking upon reading the cover's headline and seeing the image.

Super humans in Japan! Proof that we aren't alone or a cleverly made hoax?

"What the hell?!" cried Rin, wide eyes fixed in the different low-resolution pictures spreading through the page, showing two flying shapes in green and yellow brutally battling with SWORDS of all things.

One of them, the green one, was wielding two blurred short-blades in all the images.

No… it wasn't possible… the image was blurred, those could be any type of sword…

She quickly let her eyes devour most of the article, re-reading almost maniacally some specific parts.

_'People said that he calls himself the Emerald Blade…'_

_'His ring gives him super powers! It's amazing!'_

_'The so-called superhero used his powers to help clean up and save the people who were wounded after his battle…'_

_'I saw it, he said something strange and his swords like, deformed and grew into some kind of blade-wings!'_

_'An old story-fanatic who witnessed the battle identified the weapons the mysterious warriors used as a simple katana and two strange Chinese Pian Dao…'_

"That… that FUCKING IDIOT! Does he even realize what he had done?!" roared the Tohsaka heir while crushing the paper in her hands, the fury she felt upon discovering what had happened making her not even think how the hell had Shirou obtained those strange powers.

She didn't cared for what reason Shirou had done it, it surely was another stupid heroic-thing of his, be she couldn't believe that the man had been so… stupid. Not only proof of the existence of magic was on a fucking NEWSPAPER COVER, but he also had totally destroyed any hope of her solving his situation, making all her efforts of the past months useless.

The Association was going to hunt him like an animal. They would go after him with all that they had for this.

Idiot, stupid, imbecile! How could he…?! HOW COULD HE…?! She had never felt so furious in all her life, so fucking angry! If she ever got her hands in him, she was going to Gandr his ass to hell before slowly and painfully…!

**_Yes, that's it. Just what I wanted._**

"Uh?" dumbly said Rin, getting out of her anger-trance to look around. Where did that voice come from? "Who is there?!"

**_I'm the Butcher. Rage Incarnated. And you… are my new Avatar._**

"Wha…?" the girl's eyes widened when a sudden flash of red light bathed the room, her gaze fixed upon the strange red ring that had appeared out of nowhere.

_"Tohsaka Rin of the Earth. You have great Rage in your heart…"_ the Magus didn't even had enough time to understand what was happening before the ring shot to her finger and putted itself there with brutal force.

"What the hell?!" shouted Rin while trying to take off the ring from her finger.

_"You belong to the_ **Red Lantern Corps."** coldly declared the machine and Rin froze, her eyes closing when her heart suddenly stopped beating.

Half a second, the ring started to beat in its place, shining blood starting to come out from her mouth

**_YOU BELONG TO ME, HUMAN!_**

Rin Tohsaka's opened again, shining with a crimson symbol, and an inhuman roar escaped from her bloodied lips before the world went red.

Not far from there, Saber let the bag filled with the groceries she had bought fall to the ground while she grabbed her chest, the Servant's eyes suddenly widening.

Something was slowly BURNING her connection with Rin.

The only thing that kept her in this world.

"Rin!" cried the blond knight as she stood up.

A crimson explosion broke the normal sounds of the British evening, and a roar not unlike that of a Berserker resounded through the air.

"EMIYA SHIROUUUU!"

* * *

_Tic, tac, makes the clock…_

_As the Lights of the Spectrum sinisterly explode…_

_Illuminating this darkened world…_

* * *

**Chapter End.**

* * *

Tantantaaaan! Well, who was expecting that? A couple of people I know, but a lot of others no, I think. I will admit, Rin was also adept to Avarice, but let's face it, when we talk about our favorite tsundere of the Nasuverse we don't think first in her greediness, but on her tsun-tsun side. And that is a form of rage, so sum up the red ring, and well, we are screwed once again. Also, the orange wouldn't have suited her because of the more 'Dark' side of that ring's powers. Those who know about it will know why I said it, but those who don't will have to wait. I will also said that, at least from my perspective, the Orange Ring is the 'darker' of the seven, so expect someone similar to it to get it… Finally, the matter with Musubi's ring, imagine that the ring is a bottle filled with water, the water being Musubi's Love Power. Well, the thing is that the girl has so much LOVE in her and it's so unaccustomed to use it that the bottle overflows and fills itself with holes, making it lost the water much faster than it normally should. I hope that explanation is enough for now; there will be more of that sometime in the future.

But enough of that, there are more pressing things on sight! Karasuba has launched a recycled meteor upon Shin Tokyo! The Butcher has unleashed a Rage-powered Tsundere in the heart of London! And Saber is in danger to disappear! What will happen now?! Find out next time in this crazy story! Good day to everyone, this is Saint, signing off =D!


	10. Chapter 9: Savior's Will-Prodigy's Rage

Woah… I can't believe it. This story already has more than 100 reviews and 20000 views! Thanks a lot to everyone who reads this story, those who leave reviews and those who don't equally, I never would have dream that anything that I wrote, especially something as crazy as this, would be so liked. I hope you all continue enjoying this until the end, I write only to have fun and, if I can, bring some smiles to the people who take their time to read what I do :3

In the reviews side this week we don't have much that would give unnecessary spoilers, but I would like to address to one reviewer called Anon564, who has given a pair of very expressively funny reviews these last chapters (Thanks again for reading my story), and assure him that no, you can calm down, Yukari WON'T get the Orange ring. That would be terrifying, but again, no, it's not going to happen. We're not going to see much about Orange for a while, but once again, as I previously said, I have my plans for the 'darkest' light of the spectrum…

Well, enough of that, it's time to continue with this craziness! A meteor is going to erase Shin Tokyo from the map, and London is about to get a nasty encounter with the wildest of the Lights! What will happen?! Read to find out!

* * *

**Chapter 9: A Prodigy's Rage! A Savior's Will!** or _"Why does people always insists in splitting the action between two places?!"_

There are moments in life that define us forever. Decisions, promises, wishes…

For Emiya Shirou, those moments were unusually clear. And quite a few.

Walking through Hell on Earth as a hollow shell, losing everything and almost falling in the hands of Death, before being saved by the man who became his father.

The night when Emiya Kiritsugu died, when he inherited his ideals and dreams, promising to become a Hero of Justice.

Meeting a beautiful knight in blue just moments after that crazy lancer tried to kill him, again, who asked him if he was her Master.

Deciding to join the Holy Grail War, not for the wish-granting device, but to try and protect all the innocents he could.

Standing in the graveyard back to back with Rin, both of them having lost their Servants, and refusing to give up even after that.

Seeing Gilgamesh rip out the heart of Illyasviel Von Einzbern and being unable to do anything about it. His first and greatest true failure.

Fighting against EMIYA and winning, swearing to the Counter Guardian that he would never let go of his ideals, never become like him.

That last night of the war with Rin. The 'Contract' they had to form in order to have a chance of surviving.

Unleashing his Inner World against Gilgamesh, proving to the King of Heroes that there wasn't anything which said that a copy couldn't surpass the original, thanks to the might of Unlimited Blade Works.

The day after the end, when he saw that not only they did it and survived, but a miracle had happened and Saber was still with them.

Coming back to Japan, to Shin Tokyo, and accidentally finding his biological family. And the Sekirei.

Surely, there were many more moments that he wasn't thinking about right now, but all of them were being ignored in favor of this absurd and probably last one.

He was flying at top speed to try and stop a meteor from killing everyone in the city. With his bare hands.

Uh, if it wasn't impossible he would have sworn that he could hear Rin's voice screaming his name in fury, probably for trying to do the greatest stupidity in his life. How odd.

"Wha-what the hell is happening?! Is that a freaking METEOR?!" resounded Seo's voice from the communication system.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Hu-husband, answer, do you know what's happening?!"

"A meteor?! What are you saying?! Shirou-tan, tell me what's going on, I suddenly lost the signal from all the satellites and I'm blind to anything slightly above the level of the buildings cameras!"

_"Sekirei Matsu, everyone, I'm afraid Lantern Emiya is too concentrated to answer you right now, so hear Me."_ talked the ring with an unusually serious voice, making everybody freeze. _"First, Sekireis Tsukiumi and Akitsu, you two are the nearest to the location of Sekirei Musubi, so please go and fetch her to the next location…"_

"What?! What happened to Musubi?!"

_"No time. If we all are still alive, I and Lantern Emiya will explain later."_

"Ring… why do you say Emiya-kun is too busy to answer us?" Miya's voice resounded like thunder in the suddenly eerily silent and tense room while Tsukiumi and Akitsu headed towards Musubi's location. "And why did you say 'if we are still alive'?"

_"….Sekirei Matsu, there is an especial camera in the roof of MBI headquarters make to illegally monitor the Air-Space of the city. I'm hacking it and transmitting the images to your computers right now."_

The moment the ring finished talking, a new image appeared in the screens, and everybody eyes widened, their hearts losing a beat.

There was a piece of the sky falling towards the city, wreathed in hellish flames. It was as big as a skyscraper and as wide as the park where Shirou put his Geas.

"What… how…?"

_"It looks like something finally went wrong with the mind of Sekirei Karasuba, aka Golden Shōkyaku."_ grimly answered the ring to Miya's unfinished questions, making her eyes widen even more.

"Oh my god… that thing is… big enough to reduce the entire city to a giant smoking crater." whispered Matsu while dropping her glasses.

"Haruka… I'm scared…" muttered Kuno with tears in her eyes.

Of course, for almost everyone in the room (Except Haruka and Kuno, who were embracing each other and trembling) the most important fact was the blur of emerald light flying right towards it, like an arrow aimed against a tank.

"Wait a minute… Shirou?! Is that you?!" Homura's cry echoed through the room from the speakers of the communication system, confirming what they were thinking. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Ashikabi-sama. Please, stop." it was a testament to the seriousness of the petition that everyone could perfectly FEEL the emotion in Akitsu's voice.

"I can't." dryly answered Shirou, his gaze still set in the incoming mass of burning metal.

"Husband, no, stop, right now!"

"She's right man, you can't do this!" Seo sounded absolutely nervous when saying that, he and the Lighting Twins looking the scene from a roof. "You can't stop THAT, superpowers or not!"

"Shirou, please come back!" the anguish in Kazehana's voice was something truly deep to hear.

"Emiya-kun, you have to stop! Think about your Sekirei, they…!"

"I'm thinking about them, Miya!" Shirou's sudden answer made all of them fall silent. They had never heard such… determination in his voice. "I'm also thinking about you, Uzume, Chiho, my sister, mi mother, Seo and everyone else in the city! With the ring, I could maybe get you all out of the city in time, I could save you before it falls… but I would be damming everyone else in the city. I'm the only one who has any chance of stopping that thing, so I'm going to do it. I will save everyone."

"Emiya… kun…" the first Sekirei didn't knew what to say, and the fact that the images of Takehito's death were appearing in her mind didn't help

"God… he's insane." muttered Hikari to her sister, their Ashikabi staring like a statue towards the ascending emerald shine.

"He's also about to crash against a meteor for us all." answered Hibiki while she and her twin tightly grabbed Seo's hands, their eyes never leaving the falling ball of death. "That doesn't make him any less insane, though."

"Shirou…" Seo fell silent a moment, the image of his old friend appearing in his mind, the memory of how he sacrificed himself to save others invading his mind. "Don't you dare to die, dammit."

_"Lantern Emiya, we will make contact in 50 seconds."_ stated the ring while trying to not sound affected. It didn't work.

"Thanks ring. Everyone… don't worry. I will stop it." he could clearly feel how none of them was worried about that.

They were worried for him, for his safety.

Before coming here, his distorted mind wouldn't have let him totally understand why. Not, though, after everything that had happened…

_'This is crazy; we can't stop that thing directly! We have to blow it up, a good aimed Caladbolg or maybe something bigger should do it!'_

'NO! If we do that, it will break in a lot of pieces that we wouldn't be able to stop! Hundreds would die!'

_'That's better than everyone in the city, right?!'_

'We're not discussing your *Ten lives for a hundred, a hundred for a thousand, etc* shit in this moment! We're going to stop that meteor and save all the people!'

_'… if you hear the kid, you're just going to doom them all, boy. If that thing crushes us, then it's over. There won't be anything stopping it from turning Shin Tokyo into a burned graveyard.'_

_"Impact in 30 seconds." _the Power Ring's voice echoed in the sudden silence of Emiya Shirou's mind. _"25… 20… 15…"_

"That will not happen." finally answered Shirou, the giant mass of destruction engulfing all his sight. "Everyone, I…" he closed his eyes for a moment. "Ring, cut the transmission! Make the Power Aura amplify my impulse against gravity and redirect all the Will-Prana to the Reinforcement of my arms and upper muscles, NOW!"

Two giant arms of emerald armor surrounded his normal ones just two seconds before the impact… and the ring should have been more affected by the situation than he seemed, because he was too late to cut the transmission before everyone could heard the start of his scream and the sound of his bones breaking.

The room fell silent a moment after.

Kusano started to cry.

* * *

Hate. Fury. Destruction. Blood.

RAGE!

Some little part of Rin Tohsaka's that still could process rational thoughts wondered if this was how a Servant under the Mad Enhancement Skill felt. If that was the case, then she could understand a little more why Berserker had been so brutal when trying to kill her, Shirou and Saber, so many years ago…

"What the…?! Miss, you're bleeding! Are you al…?!"

"OUT… OF MY… WAY!

"Gah!" shouted the poor man that had approached the zone of the explosion, being launched like a ragdoll over the woman's shoulder by a sudden burst of red light.

… of course, having those thoughts didn't help much in the fact that she couldn't even move her body and that some kind of lunatic blood-thirsty impulse had invaded most of her brain.

She felt so angry! Angry at everything, angry at nothing! She had to crush everything, to SMASH it all until only dust remained!

**_YES! That's it, just what I wanted! Give me more fury, human, give me more RAGE!_**

"RAGH!" Rin raised her fist and brushed aside with no effort a giant piece of debris, once again amazing the little part of her mind that was still hers. That thing should have weighed 200 Kg. at least! "Stupid… rock!"

**_We need more power, more destruction! Quick, get your battery out! Recite the oath, unleash the fury!_**

_"Releasing Power Battery from Pocket Dimension."_ gravely announced the red ring, the lantern-shaped battery falling in Rin's hands.

If it wasn't for the instinctual connection that the Red Lanterns felt towards their batteries, as well as the Butcher's order, she would have tossed it aside like everything that had crossed her path the last minute.

"Power… Rage…"

"Rin?!" the woman turned around just in time to see Saber, who had threw caution to the wind and came at max speed with her armor ready, jumping from a nearby rooftop towards her. "Are you alright?! I'm feeling… My god!"

The old King of Knights had every reason to be horrified-surprised upon seeing her Master's state. She was bleeding from her mouth, a lot, and the blood had sprayed all around her face and was still falling from her chin towards the ground, where it was hissing against the street's floor like some kind of acid. Not to mention that she was hunched over, almost like an animal, and there was a red symbol shining in her eyes where her pupils should be.

Also, there was some kind of shining nimbus-aura of red energy was surrounding her

"Saber…" the sudden shine in the red ring in her finger made Saber took notice of it, just like the strange lantern-thing in her hands. "Get… out of… here…"

"Rin, don't worry, whatever is happening to you I'm going to help…!"

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!" cried Rin, making a sudden burst of red light shooting out of her and slamming against the Servant of the Sword, making her eyes widen when it took her out of her feet and slammed her body against a wall. That had bypassed her Magic Resistance as if it was nothing! "I ONLY NEED YOUR BLOOD!"

The half possessed/half maddened woman pointed her ring towards the lantern, and recited the words that gave form to the Rage of the Multiverse… turning it into Power.

_With Blood and Rage of Crimson Red,_

_Ripped from a Corpse so Freshly Dead,_

_Together with our Hellish Hate,_

_We'll Burn you All… That is Your FATE!_

A torrent of crimson energy enveloped Rin at the same time that Saber rose from the debris.

"RIN!"

_"Power Levels at 100%."_ resounded from the tornado of crimson energy and the blond knight barely had time to jump out of the way, her instincts screaming at her, when something shot out of the red aura and slammed a fist where she was standing a moment before, cracking the earth as if Heracles had punched it.

It was Rin. Clad in some sort of uniform compost of red and black tights, with the same symbol of the ring shining proudly in her chest.

**_Now nothing can stop you! UNLEASH THE RAGE!_**

"DIE AND BURN!" roared the Red Lantern before flying towards the surprised Saber, who raised her invisible blade to defend herself, surprised at the brutal strength that her Master seemed to have gained.

The curious people, that had neared the street because of the explosion, flee screaming.

"What kind of sorcery is this?!" growled the Servant while only defending herself, fearful of harming her master. Then, said woman FLEW 20 meters in the air and unleashed a brutal barrage of red bullets towards her. "Wha…?!" Saber managed to slash the first one out of instinct.

Her other instincts, those who said that her body was immune to any mundane magic, caused her to receive all the others head on and be sent flying once again, her magical armor actually cracking from the impact.

"Blood… fury…" muttered the Magus between incomprehensible snarls, watching her Servant brutally crash against a building.

Said building promptly collapsed upon itself.

**_YES! MORE DESTRUCTION! MORE RAGE!_**

"Dammit!" shouted Saber while coming out of the ruined building, a frightened looking couple under her arms, landing and letting them on the street. "Run, now!" she ordered, and be it by fear or her charisma they quickly obeyed. "Rin, I don't know if you can hear me but I will have to hurt you a little! If I don't stop you more innocent people could get involved!"

"ALL OF THEM WILL BE CRUSHED!" was the simple answer of the Red Lantern before creating some kind of big angular red rock upon her right fist out of nowhere.

Saber realized that it was a ruby. A ruby as big as a car.

Through her slowly burning connection with Rin, she could feel the Prana and _that other thing _filling the gem-construct at impossible speed, effort that would have normally took the Magus years finished in seconds.

"NO! Rin, if you throw that thing here the explosion will be…!"

"DISSAPEAR!" roared the possessed woman, launching her lethal missile.

"Strike Air!" answered the King of Knights while releasing part of the power in Invisible Air, the Hammer of the Wind King, the barrier that covered Excalibur in absence of its true sheath.

The powerful wind-blast struck true and cut the incoming bomb in two, making the blond Servant smile and jump towards her possessed Master…

… only for both sliced parts to suddenly blew up just at her side in a devastating explosion, engulfing her and the entire area in a blast of destruction.

Said blast passed harmlessly over the Red Lantern, her ring aura nullifying all the damage and most of the impact force.

**_That's great! An explosive gemstone?! A little too complicated for my tastes, but it was still awesome! You have a really destructive mind, human!_**

_"Sa… Saber!"_ cried the little part of Rin's that could still think straight, growing a little more upon seeing what her maddened body was doing to her lover and friend. "_S-stop, damn it! Why can't I stop?!"_

**_It's useless, insignificant human._**

_"Uh?!"_ trapped inside her mind, Rin's little consciousness turned around to see the gigantic _thing_ standing behind her.

Calling it a bull would have been an insult. Towering over her, the being looked like pure red muscle given the form of an ox, with gigantic horns and a jaw filled with razor-sharp fangs, two soulless crimson eyes staring directly into what remained of her sanity.

Rage given form, the fury of the Multiverse Incarnated. The destroyer and the annihilator. This was The Butcher, the physical representation of the Red Light of the Emotional Spectrum.

And Rin Tohsaka didn't need to know any of that to realize that she was in front of an existence that far surpassed anything she had ever seen.

Considering that she was a survivor of the last of the Holy Grail Wars that was saying a lot.

**_You can't stop it. Normally, with my power so low, it would have taken me time to gain full control upon you, but thanks to the uncontrollable Rage that the Red Ring inflicts upon its new bearers combined with my influence, I have isolated your conscious mind here and let only a raging animal who is absurdly easy to control. NOTHING WILL STOP THE RAGE!_**

_"Shut up, you oversized cow! I demand that you release my body right this instant!"_ while the Butcher laughed mockingly, what remained of Rin's mind was running at full speed, analyzing what she could about her situation to find a solution.

She wasn't an idiot, that was Shirou's job, she knew that normally it would be supremely stupid to insult a being that had possessed your body and looked like it could give a room for his money to the strongest Phantasmal Beast, but from what she had managed to understand the creature not only didn't consider her a threat, but also couldn't kill her mind fully or it wouldn't have bothered in trapping it apart from her body. That implied that it should exist a way for her to regain control.

On a side note, whatever the hell that ring was seemed to be able to concede a normal human the power to fight in equal level as a Servant, or at least to harm them. And if her memory about the newspaper didn't fail her, this was at least the third one to appear.

Also, Shirou had managed to get one, green, and seemingly has been forced to use it against someone who had gained another ring, yellow, and started using it to harm innocents or something like that.

Plus, she was flying, something that seemed to be a standard with these rings, while wearing a ridiculous costume that looked directly out of some cheese superhero story.

If she wasn't in such a serious situation, she would have been flaring with embarrassment and incredulity upon the craziness that surrounded their lives.

**_That thing that looked like a human should be almost finished by now…_**

_"What the hell are you talking about?! Saber isn't as weak to be defeated by just that, you stupid…!"_ Rin's mental words stopped upon seeing the dust of the explosion disperse and watching how the blond knight was half-buried by debris, her face filled with scratches, and feebly trying to get the rocks out of her body. "_Wh-why? E-even if that attack hit her head on, it shouldn't have been enough to…!"_

**_Because her existence is burning away. It's a testament to her superiority upon the inferior humans that she managed to fight against my Avatar at all._**

It was then that Rin realized something that, with all the commotion, she hadn't noticed. Something horrible.

Her contract with Saber. That link that was the only thing that still sustained the miraculous existence of Arthuria in this era, thanks to the high Prana reserves she had between her own Circuits and the Tohsaka Crest.

That thing was destroying it. Burning it away thanks to this RAGE that was spreading through her body like a disease. The Red Light had found the link and, upon finding it useless, was destroying it so that her user wouldn't be hindered by it, like Rin has been since the Grail War thanks to most of her Circuits being constantly used to sustain Saber's existence.

It was something that she never had cared about if it was to keep the honorable girl with herself and Shirou. Unfortunately, the Ring didn't seem to share that opinion, and her Berserker-like body didn't have enough reason to stop it from doing so.

_"No… NO, STOP, DAMMIT!"_

**_Now, my Avatar, finish that thing. LET IT FEEL THE RAGE!_**

"Feel… the rage…" growled the body of the Magus while raising her ring and pointing it towards the Servant's head, who looked up at her with ashamed eyes.

"Rin… I will… save you…" weakly muttered the blonde while starting to raise the rock that trapped her.

Too slowly. The ring was already shining angrily, Rin's mute scream of horror and sadness lost in the Butcher's laugh…

And then, Shirou's voice echoed through the air, screaming in pain.

Her body froze, looking towards the east, a sudden lacing pain coming from her ring.

She hadn't imagined it. Saber was too looking towards that direction with shocked eyes.

**_A-ARGH! WHAT'S THIS?! VIOLET?! DAMMIT, OUT OF HERE STUPID INFERIOR EMOTION, YOU WILL NOT MAKE ME LOSE AN AVATAR!_**

The pressure upon her body suddenly relented and she could almost 'feel' again the connection with her flesh.

She made her body turn the ring away and stopping the imminent shoot of a death ray, moving her unfocused eyes away of the blond knight. She still couldn't regain full control, but if she could just manage to turn her body attention out of Saber and upon something else, something that wouldn't cause any trouble maybe she could…

Her body's gaze suddenly fell, almost casually, upon one the most notorious thing in London. The Clocktower. A lost and unconnected phrase echoed through her maddened-self

Those bastards made Shirou go away.

Suddenly, more thoughts about Him filled her raging mind, making brutal and senseless fury to burn in her veins.

Oh Kami, no. She had to turn her eyes away before…!

**_Hey, what do you think you are doing?!_**

The Butcher's words came back together with the strain and she found herself once again unable to influence her body in any way.

Fuck.

"BASTARDS!" roared the Red Lantern while shooting herself towards the heart of the Magus Association, soaring through the air at brutal speeds, leaving a shocked Saber behind.

**_What the…?! Oh, what do we have here?_** muttered the incarnation of Rage while feeling the hundreds and gigantic barriers that covered the building and its surroundings. **_Arrogant humans, no shield can stop the RAGE! BURN IT AWAY!_**

"BURN!" acknowledged the Red Lantern, the light from her ring spreading through the greatest Bounded Fields in the planet and, to Rin's mind growing horror, infecting them like a burning disease.

Only one thought passed through the isolated consciousness of the Tohsaka heir. Apart of, "I'm so fucking dead", of course.

_"I don't know how, but this is somehow all Shirou's fault."_

* * *

A lot of alarms where roaring in MBI's headquarters while Takami ran through the halls, Yukari and Shiina just behind her, finally arriving to the monitor-filled room where Minaka's assistant was waiting for her.

"Mamoru! What the hell is happening?!"

"Miss Takami, thanks god!" cried the ex-technician, furiously typing on one of the control panels. "We just lost the signal of all of the satellites upon Japan, and we have reports of other ones having disappeared too!"

"A bunch of satellites just disappeared? That's clearly a sign that something really evil and dangerous is about to happen!" proclaimed Yukari, earning looks of disbelief for part of everyone else. "What? It's the truth!"

"… what do you mean with 'lost the signal'?" questioned Takami, deciding it would be for the better to ignore the 'peculiarities' of her daughter. "All the satellites can't just fail at the same tim…"

Suddenly, a cacophony of screams and cars getting out of control started to resound through the building.

"Wha…? What's going on?!" asked Shiina while edging closer to his Ashikabi, both of them looking how Mamoru put a lot of views of the street in the monitors.

Everything was absolute chaos.

"W-what the hell?! Why is everyone…?!"

"Some of them are pointing up… there is something in the sky that…" Mamoru's answer to Yukari's question died in his throat when he put on the screens the transmission from the 'special' camera in MBI's roof.

All of them fell deadly silent upon seeing the monstrous mass of burning metal falling from the sky.

"Thi-this is a joke, right?" muttered Takami while feeling dizzy, unconsciously moving her arms to embrace her gaping daughter, vaguely noting how Shiina was doing the same. "Please Mamoru; tell me that what we're seeing is just part of a bad sci-fi movie."

"I think… what we just found the satellites." was all that answered the man while the computer helpfully calculated that there were more or less 4 minutes before them and everyone else in the city died. "… I just realized that I haven't talked to my mom in more than a month."

The random comment of the secretary didn't snap Takami out of her shock.

However, her daughter suddenly gasping and disentangling herself from her and Shiina while running towards one of the screens did it.

"Emerald Blade!" she exclaimed with a hope-filled voice, her face a mask of relief while pointing towards the suddenly appeared emerald glow that was flying towards the meteor.

"What in heaven's name is he doing?!" demanded Takami while also running towards the screen, Mamoru quickly typing to try and get a better zoom of the image.

"I don't know, but he's ascending faster every second, he will impact against that thing in seconds!"

"He's going to stop the meteor! He will save us all, like a Superhero does!" cried Yukari while looking at everyone with happiness.

Her mother looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Yukari, this is not a game! No matter what powers that ring give him, if he crash against something that big coming at that speed he's just going to be reduced to…!"

The emerald blur and the ball of burning death crashed. The impact resounded even there, some of the screens cracking as the entire city seemed to tremble upon the shock.

The scream of pain came barely a second later, making Yukari cringe and Shiina to embrace her, while Mamoru looked down and started to quickly pray something.

Takami could only stare, half in shock and half in disbelief, how the green shine was still there in the screen, struggling just under the giant ball of fire and metal.

All the logic that ruled her world said that it should have been reduced to tiny bits of meat and be crushed the exact second it crashed against the meteor.

The brutal scream started to die down and the shine of emerald light intensified. Slowly, ever so slowly, Takami realized that the countdown showed in other screen was going a little slower than before.

The man was slowing the meteor down.

"Sweet god."

"You already saved us once today." the scientific took a moment to realize that it was Shiina who was talking, his gaze fixed in the screen while embracing her daughter, a mature and pleading look in his eyes. "I know is selfish but please… do it again."

Emerald light shined strongly on the screen.

* * *

He had felt all the bones in his arms fracturing the moment he had made contact with the giant mass of metal. A part of his mind which wasn't screaming in pain noticed that it was practically a miracle in itself that he hadn't turned into a bloody smear the moment he impacted against it.

Even with his Power Aura, his arms should have been brutally pulled out of their sockets. They would have, if he wasn't reinforced to a level that no Magus in the history of his world could have ever dream of achieving. His Power Aura roared around him, forced by him to its utmost limits to fight against gravity and the momentum of the meteor.

He could also feel how Avalon burned inside of him, eating away his Will-Prana at monstrous speed and leaving his bones as good as new before his arm-constructs where forced to collapse because of his pain.

They still cracked, tough. Even with all that, it wasn't working. It wasn't enough.

The meteor was slowing, he could feel it, but it was still going too fast. He wouldn't be able to stop it before it crashed against the ground.

He was going to fail.

_'I told you. Now is too late and we're all doomed.'_ coldly muttered the Ashura.

'…'

'What's up kid? Did you finally realize how stupid you were?'

'I don't have anything to say to you.' simply muttered the Hero while 'looking' towards the struggling Shirou. 'Neither to him. It's all in his hands now. What you or I said won't matter. So, I'm going to believe in that he will do it.'

_'… it wasn't a pleasure to meet you, fucking kid.'_

'Aww, I love you too, Ashura.' replied the smiling manifestation while his cape flapped. 'And there are a lot of people that loves you too. Right, Shirou?'

Shirou blinked. Images were filling his head.

He saw Akitsu and Tsukiumi, the former staring intensely at the sky, at him, and the latter trying to violently wake up an unconscious Musubi, tears running down her eyes.

Shirou wondered why until realizing that she probably had noticed the violet ring in her finger.

"Musubi, wake up dammit!" cried the water user, shaking the fist-fighter with less force every second. "Ple-please… I'm unable to help him, but you can. I'm useless right now, but you have one of those damn rings, so please wake up and help my… OUR HUSBAND!"

Musubi weakly opened her eyes, and the blond realized with horror that she seemed too weak to even stand up.

"Tsukiumi… don't cry." weakly muttered the childish Sekirei, her eyes looking at the emerald blur trying to stop the incoming end of everyone. "Shirou-sama… won't fail."

"I too believe in Ashikabi-sama." added Akitsu without even looking at them.

The self-proclaimed strongest Sekirei looked from one to the other for a moment before embracing Musubi and looking up too, her reddened eyes now filled with determination.

In another roof, Kazehana was crying too, but she was looking in silence towards the sky, a little smile on her face even as the tears fell down her cheeks.

"I believe, Shirou. Come back to us."

Someone else was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, fire burning in her hands while desperately looking to do… something.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Homura stopped, furiously looking at the sky while clenching her teeth and containing the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "Goddammit Shirou! Why must you always do things like this?!" she contained the urge to launch fire towards the sky, knowing it would be for nothing. "Why do you always… do things in where I can't help you?"

Outside of Izumo Inn, everyone was staring up in silence. He wondered if someone had tried to stop Kuu from coming out, but realized that the little girl probably wouldn't have let them.

Haruka was staring with a conflicted look in his face, not letting go of the trembling Kuno for even a moment, as if fearing she would disappear the moment he did it.

"Emiya-kun…" muttered Miya, never having felt so useless in her life.

"Shirou… please, be alright." added Matsu, the Sekirei 002 feeling as powerless as her ex-leader.

"Bro…" Uzume blinked when she felt her Ashikabi's hand clenching her own, a look of absolute resolution in her face. "Chiho…?"

"He will do it Uzume. And he's going to be alright." she smiled with absolute belief as she looked up again. "He's a Superhero, after all."

"Onii-chan…" Kusano had tear in her eyes while grabbing to Matsu's legs, but there was a burning belief in her eyes. "Chiho-chan is right. Onii-chan is a hero. And he's the best! Heroes always do it!"

All the plants in the neighborhood seemed to grow with renewed life upon hearing her voice. No one realized it.

"Everyone…" growled Shirou between rasped breaths, his body burning from pushing his Circuits to the limit.

They were worried for him. And they believed in him.

They believed he could do it. They believed he could save them.

_"Power Levels at 53%. Lantern Emiya… we can't do it. It's not going to stop in time. You can't stop it."_ sadly muttered the ring while the shadow of the falling mass started to cover part of the city.

_"You can't save everyone." _the words of his father resounded distantly, the weight of a life of failures and disappointment filling them.

"Yes…yes I can…" Shirou felt his helmed shatter, his eyes closed with force, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. "And I… will!"

Rin's and Saber's images summed to everyone else' in his mind. Failure was not an option.

He was a Hero of Justice. Someone who existed to save. Even if he was just a sword, he…

**_You're wrong._**

Shirou's mind froze. Even time itself seemed to stand still for a moment.

**_You're no longer the Sword. You're the Will that moves the Sword. What will you do?_**

"I have to… stop it…" answered the Green Lantern, feeling the limits of his body and ring impeding him to keep going.

**_Finally… you can hear my voice. And now, there is a truth you must comprehend. Your limits… don't exist anymore._**

Shirou's eyes snapped open, the image of a roaring shark-whale in them.

_"Warning! Willpower Levels rising out of the graphics! Lantern Emiya?! What's happening?!"_

**_Imagination is your limit. And Will your Sword. Now, you can…_**

"Do anything…" muttered the Magus, feeling the words flowing out of his mouth as if he wasn't the one saying them.

Will was his Sword. His Will was created by Swords. He was the Sword. He was the Will.

**_Yes. Because…_**

_"My Will was forged by blades…"_ the Aria came out of Shirou's mouth with no effort, words that weren't his echoing through Shin Tokyo's sky, making everyone stop screaming or running to look up.

Inside the Magus' soul, all the giant gears suddenly exploded, the sky itself burning away with green fire, leaving behind a dark sky filled with shining diamonds. Stars.

And all the swords slowly rose, wrapped in emerald light…

The people of Shin Tokyo looked up it in time to see an emerald Titan of Light take form.

* * *

Waver Velvet, better known now as Lord El-Melloi the Second, sighed while walking down a corridor of the Clocktower. The only living survivor of the 4th Holy Grail War had a lot in his mind since reading the notice that he found yesterday.

Being one of the almost non-existent Magus of the Association that keep up with modern technology, he has been calmly navigating through the Internet when he had come across of a curious article.

It was called 'The Emerald Blade of Shin Tokyo'.

Five minutes after reading it and checking that the video and images in it had effectively gone viral and spread through the entire world, there was only one though in his head.

Fuck.

He knew that sooner or later the higher ups of the Association where going to hear of this, technology-hate or not this was so big it would be appearing in the news and everywhere probably by today, but he had decided not to tell anything to anyone yet.

While it was certainly a grave threat to the secret of the existence of Magecraft, he knew that there was already no way to cover up this, and that with a little of subtlety it could be manipulated to make everyone believe that it was just a hoax.

Unfortunately, the Magus Association wasn't known for their 'passive' subtlety, so he was still trying to think up of a plan to explain the situation to them that wouldn't result in those bastards trying to kill thousands of innocent people.

It was a testament of the 'goodness' of the Association that he still couldn't come up with anything after an entire day of thinking.

So lost in thought he was that he almost crashed against a blonde girl in an elegant blue dress upon turning a corner.

"Oh, good evening, Lord El-Melloi." politely greeted the woman.

"Miss Edelfelt." Waver returned the gesture while looking at the blond. Lluviagetta Edelfelt was known for being a little too arrogant, but also a prodigy of those that only appeared every hundreds of years.

It was also well known how she and his acquaintance, Rin Tohsaka, couldn't stand each other.

"It's something the matter, sir? You look troubled."

"Nah, its nothing." answered the man while dismissing the matter entirely. After all, as long as nothing else like that happened there was no reason to believe he couldn't convince the Association to…

The sound and impact of hundreds of the most ancient and powerful Bounded Fields in the world shattering like glass violently thrown both of them and everyone in the building and its surroundings to the ground, all the windows and some lesser things brutally shattering too.

Ancient and powerful they may have been. The glory of human Magecraft since immemorial times… but that meant nothing to a tool that, even if it was aligned to a maddening energy, was created by beings that were even older that the entire Solar System.

"Wha-what in the world just happened?!" cried Lluvia while trying to stand up.

Then, something broke the wall five meter ahead of them like a speeding truck or a cannonball, making her yelp and fall to the ground again. It was a person.

Waver needed almost ten seconds to realize who she was. It was difficult between the uniform, the burning blood in her face, the half-useless mask and the strange crimson aura.

"Tohsaka?!" cried Edelfelt exactly what he was thinking, making 'Rin' turn her head towards them. "What the hell happened to yo…?"

"SILENCE, BITCH!" shouted the Red Lantern while punching the air in her direction, making Waver eyes widen when half-formed red light roared through the air and knocked Lluvia to the other end of the hallway, unconscious. "FEEL THE RAGE!"

"Tohsaka, I don't know what happened to you but I'm going to stop you now!" while saying that, Waver quickly took out a little vial and thrown it to the ground, shattering it and releasing the mass of quicksilver, a copy of the Mystic Code of his old teacher and first Lord El-Melloi, _Volumen Hydragyrum__._

The pool of mercury was just starting to take the shape of a sphere when Rin raised her hand in an angry sneer.

"USELESS!" she cried while red light formed around the Mystic Code and, before the incredulous eyes of the Magus, trapped it inside of a sphere of crimson energy, as tiny as a closed fist. "GO AWAY, TRASH!" after adding that, the possessed woman created an honest to god baseball bat and brutally launched the sphere through the hole she had created upon entering.

Then, she looked at the frozen Waver.

"Oh shi..!"

"DIE!" she cried while shooting another wave of light from the ring in her finger, hitting the man with enough force to make him crash through a wall.

While feeling his broken ribs and trying to stand up again, Waver caught a glimpse of incoming figures by both sides of the hallway, running towards Tohsaka, preparing a lot of attack Mysteries in their hands. Enforcers.

Without asking or saying anything, they launched a wave of elemental death towards the Red Lantern. Waver looked blankly how all of that washed over her without any visible effect except a little stumble in her step. The Enforcers eyes widened.

"Oh, c'mon!" cried Waver while Rin roared, the moment of hesitation costing the Enforcers greatly as a wave of crimson destruction exploded from the woman body and knocked most of the through walls, a couple at least falling out of the Clocktower while screaming. "Did she turn into a Berserker or something?!"

In that moment, a blue and silver figure came through the wall, as fast as the wind itself. Waver recognized it immediately, feeling for a moment as if he was that scared boy from the 4th War once again, a simple human in the middle of a clash of superior beings.

Servant Saber. King Arthur.

"Sorry, Rin!" cried the King of Knights before slamming the flat side of her invisible sword against the chest of the surprised Red Lantern, throwing her out of the building and opening a new hole in the wall at doing it.

Waver realized that she was in a really bad shape, her armor cracked in some parts and a lot of bleeding scratches in her face, not to mention her raged breath.

He had never seen her looking that bad in the Grail War.

She looked towards him and a flicker of recognition seemed to past for her eyes before she shot out of the building too, pursuing her maddened Master.

"Well… there goes my hopes of an easy day…" was the last thing he could mutter before falling unconscious.

"I hope Iskandar's old Master is okay." weakly muttered Saber while following the flying blur of red light, ignoring the screams and exclamations of shock as she jumped in the water of the great river that passed through London.

Discretion didn't mattered anymore, she needed to get Rin to a more deserted zone and figure a way to make her come to her senses before she could hurt someone els…

"RAGE!" roared the Red Lantern, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing the surprised Servant's face. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!" she cried before shooting through the sky at insane speeds, arriving almost to the outskirts of the city before throwing Saber like a missile towards a street. "DIE!"

The impact resounded brutally, making a lot of people scream.

_"I… can't move…"_ growled Saber while her vision swan dizzily, her grasp in Excalibur feeling weaker than ever.

This was it. The link had almost totally disappeared and she almost didn't have any Prana left. She would fade away in little more than a minute.

**_Hah! Stupid being, believing you could stop my Avatar! Now, let's get back to that strange place and show those stupid human wizards the might of the RAGE!_**

While the Butcher's laugh echoed and Rin's mind muted cry was lost in the silence, the body of the Magus looked once more at the fallen Servant before slowly flying away.

Saber followed her with her gaze until she disappeared from her sight behind a building.

It was over. She had failed Rin… and Shirou. Arthuria closed her eyes…

_"No… it can't end this way!"_ mentally growled the blond woman while trying to force her body to move.

So, what if she was running out of Prana? What if the world was trying to erase her existence?

She had already failed too much people in her life… but she would not fail Rin and Shirou. They were the ones who returned the meaning to her existence, who showed her the foolishness of her wish.

They were the ones to bring true happiness to her life for the first time.

She already failed Shirou when he was forced to go away, even though she had sworn to protect him. She won't fail Rin too. There had to be a way to stop this, to save Rin, and she was going to find it, even if Gaia itself was trying to stop her! She won't go back to that hill!

She won't surrender, for the sake of those that had given her…!

**_Hope._**

_"What?"_

**_That's what they gave to you. Am I right?_**

_"Merlin? Is that you…?"_ muttered Saber, wondering if the old wizard had managed to echo his voice though time itself just to help her

**_No, young woman, I'm not your old friend. I have looked inside of you, Arthuria Pendragon. You were always a beacon of Hope for your country, for your knights. You even wield the crystalized Hope of Humanity in your hands. But you never had Hope for yourself inside you… not until you meet those two. They became the Hope in your heart, the light in your life. And now, I see that there is no one more worthy of my Power upon this world._**

_"Who…?"_ Saber's eyes opened. She was floating in a colorless void.

And there was a giant three-faced blue bird before her.

**_I'm Adara, Hope Incarnated and the Blue Light of the Emotional Spectrum. You're no longer a King, Arthuria, but you will always be a knight. A blue knight of Hope… an Azure Knight._**

The old King of Knights blinked and realized that there was a brilliant blue light washing over her, the vanishing of her almost disappeared body having stopped when she was already dissolving.

It was coming from the floating blue ring before her.

_"Arthuria Pendragon of the Earth. You have the ability to instill great Hope…"_ the ring floated silently to her finger, her armor having already vanished, and Saber's eyes flared with the image of Adara, the sureness of the future filling her being. _"Welcome to the_ **Blue Lantern Corps."**

Blue light filled the broken street, and the people nearby suddenly feel all their worries vanishing, an absolute feeling of surety, of HOPE, filling them.

A hand was raised, grabbing a shining blue lantern, while the other pointed the ring towards it, the oath of the Hope of the Multiverse resounding through the city.

_In Fearful Days, in Raging Night_

_With Strong Hearts Full our Souls Ignite_

_When All Seems Lost in the War of Light_

_Look to the Stars… For Hope Burns Bright!_

A pillar of blue light roared to the heavens. It was a glorious day for humanity… and a really bad one for the secrecy of Magecraft.

The Red Lantern suddenly stopped in mid-air, a strange and cold feeling washing over her.

_"What was that?"_ muttered the still sane part of Rin's mind while the Butcher suddenly seemed nervous.

**_Wait a minute… I know this presence… No, it can't be…!_**

Rin's body blinked. Her Power Aura started to wink in and out, and her mind started to regain contact with her body.

"Uh?" she muttered dumbly before a shining blue light appeared a couple of meters in front of her, a glorious figure wrapped in blue and white armor emerging from it.

The full body armor seemed to have been especially adapted in an impossible manner to not only full-cover the knight, but also allow full mobility. Unlike her normal gauntlets, the ones she was wearing now allowed total liberty to every bone in her fingers, letting the Magus see the brilliant bluer ring in her right hand. If it wasn't for the fact that the lower part of the body was stylized like her normal battle attire, it would have been impossible to tell if the warrior was a man or woman. A strange cape that seemed more like a mantle born directly from her armored shoulders, by moments seeming made of cloth and others from pure blue energy. Blue wind roared around her ring's hand for a moment, outlining the shape of her sword before totally fusing with its mystery, returning the invisibility to the holy weapon.

A full helmet covered her face, with a visor stylized like the knights of old, and some decoration that looked like a crown seemed to be carved right out the top of the helm, blue gems shining in it.

The symbol of the Blue Lanterns Corps was proudly carved in the chest of the armor, a glorious blue upon a white background.

**_NOOO! Adara, you bastard! Why must you do this to meee…?!_**

"Don't worry Rin." the voice of the Azure Knight echoed gloriously, drowning the angry question of the Butcher, Rin's aura turning even weaker upon the shine of the blue light. "All will be well."

The Hope brought by her voice resounded as thunder through the souls of every person in the English Capital.

* * *

The moment the Aria was pronounced, Shirou felt as if his body had become a burning mass of energy. He clearly felt it when the titanic armor-construct former around himself, almost as big as a skyscraper, and he didn't know if to be amazed by the sheer size at which the light could expand or if to somehow blame Yukari for the fact that it looked like a giant robot.

The eyes of every person in Shin Tokyo widened and their mouths opened in absolute disbelief upon seeing the colossal being still struggling against the meteor, which now looked like a beach ball compared to it.

Inside of MBI, Takami wasn't sure what would happen first, if her jaw would break from incredulity or her mind would collapse upon itself at the sheer absurdity/impossibility of what she was seeing.

"He created a Mecha with his ring!" jumped Yukari with stars in her eyes, her Sekirei's eyes still wide open while staring at the screen. "Go, Emerald Blade!"

Upon a building, the now kneeling Homura was staring blankly at the phenomenon.

"I'm not seeing that…No way, I'm not seeing that…" she repeated again and again, shaking her head.

"…Holy shit." muttered Seo, his two Sekirei still grabbing his arms and with their mouths as opened as his.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Matsu apparently was the first one to recover the ability to say something coherent between those standing in front of Izumo Inn.

Blinking back to reality, or trying to, Miya realized that Kuu had sparkles in her eyes while looking towards the emerald giant.

"Woah… Bro is really the most amazing guy I have ever met." weakly muttered Uzume while seeing Chiho experiment a reaction similar to Kusano's, unsure of what else to say.

Haruka and Kuno didn't seemed to be in the state of mind to express any word, and probably wouldn't for quite a time.

Even so, the metallic mass was still falling too fast, the giant hands cracking from the pressure.

**_It's still not enough._**

"Trace… Full Expansion." muttered Shirou, the words somehow coming to him, his and at the same time not.

27 seven Magic Circuits flared to life, filling themselves to the brink with Will-Prana. It wasn't enough.

The ring's voice echoed in his head, and those too seemed to be being said by someone else.

_Circuits limit reached. Action impossible to continue._

Imagination was his limit…

"Over-Trace. Trigger Open."

_Overriding action. Analyzing Magic Circuits existence… Done. Recreating Temporary Artificial Circuits using construct as main body._

Will was his Sword…

The emerald giant opened its mouth (?) and roared, thousands of shining circuits filling his entirety like a Network of Light. The Mana of the entire city was siphoned by them, reconverted into Prana in seconds. Something that should be impossible for Emiya Shirou.

But not for the Emerald Blade.

_Process complete. Prana recollected. Searching into inner world for necessary implement… Found._

For there wasn't anything impossible to the Will of the Multiverse.

_Tracing object into existence… World interference detected. Using Willpower to reduce interference to minimum…_

And he was the Will that moved the Sword.

**_Do it. Save them._**

"Rho Aiais." simply declared the Green Lantern while separating ten meters from the meteor and raising his hand. The titanic construct did the same.

A titanic shield made of seven petals as big as a quarter of the city burned itself into reality, each petal as powerful as if the walls of the legendary Troy themselves had become Noble Phantasms, the symbol of Will embedded in each of them.

The meteor crashed against it. One of the petals cracked. It stopped.

Shirou vaguely felt Avalon repairing the damage done to his body.

An almost supernatural silence filled the city, everyone staring at the giant with the humongous flower-shield and the burning ball of deformed metal standing in the center of it.

"Go away." growled Shirou before overflowing the shield with Will-Prana and simply shooting the arm of the construct like a rocket, meteor and shield flying at impossible speeds towards the sky and disappearing out of sight.

He didn't even wondered how he did it at this point. He felt too tired.

Up in the atmosphere, Karasuba stared blankly as the meteor-shield-arm passed her by and keep going into the void. A monstrous emerald explosion filled the darkness seconds after, the Broken Phantasm detonating with amazing force.

For a moment, a flicker of relief seemed to fill the Sekirei's eyes before her pupils were gone again and only the symbol of Fear remained.

**_This isn't over, Ion…_** growled Parallax, feeling how all the screams of terror had vanished and being replaced by silence.

"It's not over…" sinisterly muttered Golden Shōkyaku before flying away.

Shin Tokyo exploded in a roar of happiness and relief, people running while crying and/or embracing each other.

"I… did it…" breathed Shirou, happiness filling him upon the sight.

The titanic construct faded away, and with it the feeling of immense power, leaving Shirou feeling incredibly tired and normal.

…strangely normal for someone with a Power Ring.

That made him notice how his Power Aura was vanishing and that he was quickly falling towards the ground, his limbs feeling as if they weighed a ton.

**_Remember, young one._**

Shirou felt his eyes closing, distant voices calling for him as the image of a giant shark-whale surrounded by floating swords appeared in his mind.

_"Power Levels at 3%. Lantern Emiya, wake up!"_

"SHIROU!"

"GOD, HE'S FALLING!"

**_Steel rust and breaks. The heroes come and go. The Legends are lost in the vastness of time…_**

"SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"

_"… Sekirei Matsu, tell Lantern Emiya it was an honor to have him as my Green Lantern."_

"What? Ring, what are you…?"

_"Removing A.I. security protocols. Converting self-energy to Willpower. Preparing emergency short-distance teleport"_ there was a pause. _"Goodbye, everyone. It was an honor. Executing."_

The last thing Shirou felt before his consciousness faded away was a little shape made of green light enveloping him.

**_But Will lasts forever. So speaks Ion._**

"RING!"

And then, there was darkness…

* * *

That day in Shin Tokyo, humanity saw the impossible.

They saw a burning piece of the sky falling upon them. Their deaths were secured, and there was nothing they could do about it.

And then, they saw a man wielding emerald light fly at its encounter.

He raised his hands and became a giant. He roared and they saw his Will became a shield that stopped the piece of sky.

And they saw him throw it back at the heavens, before falling and vanishing as if he never was there, saving them all.

Saving everyone.

From all parts of Japan, the people who still didn't knew the whole story managed the see a burning star fall and then be repelled back by a green shine. Soon, the story of what had happened would reach the worlds ears.

And for good or bad, that day, in Shin Tokyo, a new legend was born.

A Legend of Light in this Darkened World.

* * *

**Chapter End**

* * *

Woah, can't believe I just wrote that. I think I have been seeing too much anime and reading too much awesome stories lately. I recommend taking a view to my list of favorites if you want to find some great ones of Fate/Stay Night, and others. The Throne of Shirou's it's an especially good one.

Anyway… the Clocktower is going to be pissed when they realize what had happened. There and in Japan.

Also, Hope burns bright. The Azure Knight has been born. The Butcher is in troubles.

And Ion makes an appearance. Huh, it's amazing how your imagination fly when you have a tool of basically infinite possibilities and the absurdly complicated rules of the Nasuverse in your hands. The final result is that one utterly crushes the other while still taking advantage of it.

And yeah, I just made Shirou stop a meteor.

… Still not as awesome as the insuperable feat of Grabiel Blessing-sama of blowing him up to the Root itself. Ehm… I don't really know what else to say, I think writing all of that left my brain a little dry, so I hope you enjoyed your time reading the chapter, see you all next time. This is Saint, signing off!


	11. Chapter 10: Knight of Hope-Mind's Seal

Wahoo! Yeah, we're back here again with the Emerald Blade, the Nasuverse's greatest Superhero! The happy world where most of its inhabitants want anything but a Superhero, except if it's strapped to a dissection table!

… really, I don't know why I keep saying things like that, and still found them true and funny XD That's the Nasuverse we all hate/love. Thanks to everyone who keeps reading this, I hope you keep enjoying it. I was really happy to see in last chapter's reviews that a lot of people enjoyed it; I feared that I had let my 'awesometre' go a little too far XP Also, to the reviewer ArcherShirou, yeah, Rin was doing a good thing in the eyes of many, who doesn't want to go and blow up the Clocktower? But if Saber hadn't stopped her she would had end up doing something she regretted, like killing someone who is not a total bastard (Like Waver for example). Not to mention, even with the Power Ring, you must remember that the Magus in the Clocktower are very sneaky and sinister/lunatic/evil/curious, not to mention that if some of the most… broken people up there (CoughLoreleicough) came out, things would have turned very ugly… for who? Who knows…

And she still managed to break like trash in half a minute the most ancient, powerful and irreparable Bounded Fields of the world, those protecting the Clocktower itself. That's still a pretty fucking bad blow for them, and a lot of people are going to get reaaaally pissed…

Well, enough of that for now! Things are truly starting to get serious around here. The Emerald Blade has saved Shin Tokyo, but in doing so has revealed himself to the world in the flashiest manner ever imagined! Plus, something really weird seems to be going on with Karasuba, and Parallax seems to enjoy it… Not to mention, what happened with Shirou's ring?!

But most important, the Blue Lantern of the Nasuverse has finally appeared! Adara has chosen his Avatar, and those bastards that fill the Nasuverse with injustice and negativisms must fear…

For the Azure Knight has risen!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Knight of Hope! Break the Mind's Seal!** or _"The Guardians of Oa would like to remember everyone that trying to repair a Power Ring on your own it's a very stupid and dangerous thing."_

There is no greatest legend in all of England's History than that of King Arthur.

The glorious King of Knights, wielder of the legendary Excalibur, one of the most known legends in the entire world. Even if it had a sad ending, the trials, the tribulations, the suffering, the glory and everything else that Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table lived are one of the stories that most has inspired humanity.

Also, there is a little extra part at the end of said history. It says that, when England and the world face a time of great need, the Legendary King will rise once again, to stop whatever threatened our world.

Of course, Saber could easily tell anyone who asked that said part of the legend was just a funny delusion said by an imaginative writer, who wouldn't had ever said it if he had known about the truth of her bitter end and the wish she had been trying to achieve for so long.

But then again, wasn't she suddenly FLYING while emitting a glorious blue light, that brought the Hope of the Multiverse itself into everyone that saw it, just in the middle of the capital of her old kingdom?

Talk about ironies.

**_Da-dammit! Get us out of here, my Avatar! We have to get away from the fucking light of Adara!_**

"Get… away…" muttered the Red Lantern, but much more slowly and dubiously than before.

The Blue Light brings Hope to those who felt it. The Red Light of Rage couldn't oppose it… and for that reason, it vanishes, powerless, in its presence.

Rage couldn't defeat Hope.

"Rin, I know you are there." there was something glorious in the woman's voice now, like every word she said could make you feel that everything was possible. "You are stronger than that thing, Rin. Your will is greater than it. Control the Rage." she pointed her invisible sword at her, the Power Ring shining gloriously. "For Hope burns bright."

She fired, a pillar of light cutting through the air from the tip of the holy blade.

**_NO!_**

Weakly, the Red Lantern raised a half-formed shield of light in front of herself. The blue light tore through it like if it was paper and engulfed her body, making her scream.

Even if it wasn't inflicting her any pain. It was the Butcher who was screaming.

**_NO, DAMN IT, THIS WON'T…! _**

"Hey, you oversized cow."

**_Uh?_**

The Incarnation of Rage turned around, almost dumbly.

There was a giant Rin Tohsaka made of red light standing tall in front of him… with a baseball bat.

"This is for making me hurt Saber!" roared the Magus before slamming her bat into the bull, throwing him through the metaphorical air of her mindscape. "And this is for making me look so ridiculous!" she added before teleporting in front of his still flying body, slamming him against the 'ground'. "Oh, this is for hitting Lluvia, though."

She gently petted his head. Then, she broke the bat against said head.

**_GAH! Wh-why…?_**

"THAT WAS FOR MAKING ME BLOW UP ALL THE BOUNDED FIELDS OF THE CLOCKTOWER!" Rin grabbed the poor red bull and started to shake him like a ragdoll. "Do you have any fucking idea of what have you done?! I blew a lord through a wall and almost a dozen Enforcers while emitting fucking red light, not to mention that Edelfelt bitch recognized me on the spot! I will be lucky if they only stamp me with a Sealing Designation of the highest level!" then, she started to kick him.

**_Wha… How are you doing that…? Why can't I stop youuu….?!_**

While being brutally kicked, the Butcher tried vainly to stop Rin. The Emotional Entity hadn't had in count an important factor: Rin Tohsaka was someone who felt great rage, true, but she could also 'control' that rage to only made it explode against the things she wanted, having a perfect 'mask' of calmness and/or politeness put on whenever she desired. And that was because of an important fact.

She was an A rank Tsundere. Without the help of the ring's pseudo Mad Enhancement, the Butcher was just realizing that, even if he was the Rage, she was the Avatar.

She was the one in control, and he the one who was caged. And his power was so low that, for still unknown reasons, he couldn't even get out of her body.

There was only one word, repeatedly used today by different people by the way, who could express the bull's current realization.

**_Fuck…_**

"And stay there thinking about what you did!" finally finished the Japanese Magus, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes, once again in full possession of her own body. It felt beautiful.

Until she realized that she was falling from the sky like a rock.

**_Ouch, this is going to hurt…_**

"UAAAH! Fly! Elevate! Up! Why it's not working?!" cried the recuperated Red Lantern while flailing her arms and legs wildly.

Until a shining and armored hand grabbed her.

"I knew you could do it, Rin." softly smiled Saber while dispelling her helmet. "And don't worry; the Red Ring is not working because of the intensity of my blue light. By the way, you look better."

The Azure Knight's words were true. After being exposed to that flash of blue light, Rin's veins no longer feel like they were about to burst and the blood in her face wasn't shining or smoking anymore. Plus, she no longer felt the need of going hunched over like an animal and the symbol of Rage had disappeared from her eyes, leaving her normal pupils in her place.

She was still wearing those ridiculous red and black tights, though.

"Oh. That's good." nervously smiled the black-haired woman while looking towards the ground, only just realizing how high they were. "Ehm, I don't want to offend you, Saber, but do you think you could let me…?"

"Of course. Now that the maddening rage of the ring has been nullified, Adara says that you shouldn't have any problem with it." while saying that, the blonde reduced the energy of her Power Aura to the minimum, and Rin blinked as her own red aura slowly enveloped her again.

She didn't even noticed when Saber let go of her, but she started screaming and flailing the moment she did… until realizing that she was actually floating in mid-air.

"Woah… this thing really let you fly without using any Prana?" muttered the Magus while looking at her ring in wonder.

_"The Power Ring answers to the imagination of the user._" suddenly explained the Red Ring, making Rin release an undignified squeak and Saber to smile again. _"It shapes the Light that comes from the Emotional Energy of the user and allows doing practically anything, its only limitations being the user itself and his/her Emotional Levels."_

"So… are you saying that you can let me do anything that I imagine and that I become more powerful the angrier I'm?" the Magus was having a hard time digesting that, her mind a torrent of chaos between what had happened just and the revelation of the ring. She had thought it was just a weird weapon, not some sort of reality-altering tool! "Who could possibly build a Mystic Code like this?"

_"This unit is not a *Mystic Code*. It's a copy of the design of a Green Lantern Power Ring, the most advanced technological tool ever created in the Universe."_

Rin blinked once. Then twice. Even Saber looked a little shocked by the revelation.

"Wait a minute… are you trying to say that… you are a machine? Not a magical creation?

_"No."_

"… and you don't use any Magecraft to work?!"

_"Again, no. This unit systems are purely technological."_

"You have got to be kidding me…" there were many things that Rin Tohsaka could accept easily, being not only a Magus but also having been a Master in a Grail War, but to believe something like that?! If that was true, then that meant that a machine had just let her smash through the heart of the magic world itself with no effort whatsoever!

… on a side note, it also meant that she could perfectly use with no problems what probably was the most complicated of all machines in the universe. Hah, Shirou wouldn't be able to insult her for being unable to record a TV show ever again!

**_Arthuria, I fear that we may have a problem._**

"Uhm?" the Azure Knight raised her head, her gaze turning serious while her helmet reformed. "They are setting a Bounded Field around us."

"What?!" shouted Rin while looking around, effectively feeling the barrier surrounding a great area, all the normal people inside suddenly falling sleep. "To create a Bounded Field this big… Damn it, how many people did they send for us?!"

_"Detecting at least 34 human signals as the origin of the magical barrier put around us." _announced Rin's ring, making the woman blink before remembering that the thing activated by imagination. _"Also, at least two dozen other humans with magical energy, probably wizards, are entering the area and nearing our position."_

"What do we do, Rin?" questioned Saber, and Rin knew that the knight wasn't just asking about the incoming Magus that probably wanted to kill/capture them and examine their bodies and rings, but about the situation in general.

Certainly, now what? She couldn't get back to the Clocktower and just say it was all a misunderstanding caused because some sort of bull-mystical beast that identified himself as Rage incarnated had possessed her.

**_Not to mention they would want to remove your ring, killing you._**

"Yeah, not to mention that… wait, what?!" shouted Rin at the still beat-up red bull. "What do you mean 'killing me'?"

**_Ehm, your heart has stopped. It's a side effect of using the Red Rings, now your ring beats for your heart! Isn't that great?! Now you won't die even if someone stabs you in the heart!_**

"… Saber, we have to get the hell out of here. Turns out, now the Association will kill me even if they don't try, because I'm sure as hell they would want to get their hands in the ring."

"Removing your ring will kill you?!" shouted the knight before blinking repeatedly, hearing Adara's voice. "I see… well, then the best thing we can do for now is to retire."

"… I can't believe that in less than an hour I have become a menace for the secrecy of Magecraft and someone worthy of being hunted down by the Enforcers." bitterly muttered Rin while grabbing her head. "Agh, if at least I wasn't wearing these stupid tights then maybe…!"

_"Acknowledged. Adapting user's uniform."_ announced the ring, making Rin's clothes to start shining and shifting.

"Uh?! What the…?!" the heir of the Tohsaka blinked several times, noticing the sudden change in her state of dress. "How…?"

_"This unit read your brainwaves and adapted your uniform to a state more comfortable for you. It's inadequate?"_

Rin didn't answered right away, too busy looking at how she now seemed to be wearing a Red Lantern-themed, and more 'risqué', version of the clothes she wore in the Holy Grail War. Between the black-red miniskirt and the top, with the symbol of the corps still engraved, that exposed part of her bellybutton and left her shoulders and arms bare, she suddenly felt oddly underdressed. The mask was still in her face, and a pair of high heeled-boots and gloves that barely passed her wrists finished her new 'uniform'. Or so she thought.

"… it has been quite the time since I last saw your hair that way." offhandedly commented Saber, making her blink and pass her hands through her hair. It was once again arranged in two pigtails, like when she was in highschool (Only obviously larger), both of them pinned in place with a pair of crimson ribbons with the symbol of Rage in them.

"And now it let you changes your costume with only thinking…" sighed the Magus while rubbing her forehead. "It's not exactly my style, but it will do until we are out of here." she muttered while growling at once again remembering their fucked up situation.

**_Hey, c'mon, cheer up. It could always be worse…_**

Well, the now more docile bull was right. At least she wasn't wearing something stupid, like a Magical Girl dress or something like that. That would have been horrible.

"Just one more thing." declared Rin while seeing a lot of Enforcer, armed with deadly looking Mystic Codes, entering her range of vision. She raised her hand and everyone tensed at seeing the red light taking the form… of a glass of water, which she promptly splashed over her face, the red water somehow washing away all the blood, leaving her face pristine. "Uh, it was really water. Weird. Oh well."

Then, she raised her hands like they were machineguns and shot dozens of crimson-shining Gandr, all which exploded in enormous clouds of red smoke.

"What do we do now?" questioned the Azure Knight while both of them flew away, a rain of random elemental attacks and more deadly curses filling the air behind.

"Uhm…" Rin looked around, towards the invisible barrier sustained by almost three dozen Magus, and smiled despite the situation. "First, we break that. And then… any suggestions?"

**_We could blow them all into tiny bloody pieces!_**

"… any suggestions that DON'T come from the lunatic bull in my head?"

"We should first lose anyone who may be following us before retiring to any place. There is no doubt that they will try to follow us."

**_Well, can they follow you to the stars?_**

Adara's question made Rin blink and look towards Saber, and the Magus could swear that she could almost see her blinking behind her helmet too. They looked up.

"Are you serious?"

**_I'm the Incarnation of Hope, Tohsaka Rin. I'm always serious._**

"It's okay, Rin. If Adara says we can, then we can." the blonde grabbed her lover's hand, red gloves shining weaker against the blue gauntlets. "Don't worry. I'm sure all will be well."

"…yeah, when you say it like that I feel sure too." smiled Rin in answer, feeling again for a moment that little tinge of pain coming from her ring, before the Butcher growled something about 'violet out!' again and it disappeared. "Ok, then up we go. First we have to break the Bounded…"

"Allow me." said Saber before MOVING.

A Blue Lantern Power Ring couldn't really do much without the presence of a Green Lantern's one. After all, Hope and Will always went hand to hand, reinforcing and aiding each other. Without a Green Lantern nearby, a Blue Lantern was limited to basic reinforcement from the Power Aura and simple constructs; unable to do the most complex things that others could, but still being able to turn a normal human into a powerful being by normal standard.

In the hands of Arthuria Pendragon, old Servant Saber of the Holy Grail War, however…

"Release the Wind King." simply muttered the Azure Knight, her sword turning visible as a torrent of blue wind roared around her in every direction, her body moving so fast that if left after-images behind her.

The Bounded Field shattered with such force that every Magus sustaining it was sent sailing through the air, unconscious, and the people of London was able to see a blue shine of Hope rising into the sky gloriously, faster than any known combat plane.

A red blur followed it shortly after.

"A little excessive, don't you think?"

"Perhaps." muttered Saber while they kept flying up, her sword turning invisible once again.

"… There's something different about you, right? I mean, apart from the shining armor and Hope powers." half-joked Rin, worriedly looking to the blonde's helmet.

"… I'm not a Servant anymore, but not a normal living being either. You could say that I'm something in between. Adara has baptized me as the Azure Knight." she dispelled her helm, looking towards her with a sad smile. "Our link is broken; I know you can feel it too. But I'm still here…" she looked towards her ring. "…thanks to this. In a sense, it's the same as with you. If someone were to remove this ring, my existence will probably disappear in seconds."

"Then don't worry." Rin gently squeezed her hand, even if the closeness make her Power Aura almost disappear. "No one is taking these rings from us."

**_Aww… that's so sweet you're going to make me puke. Puagh._**

"Shut. Up." growled Rin, wondering if it would be too much of a problem to beat up the Emotional Entity again.

**_… hey, I know! If Adara can put a cool name to his Avatar, then so can I! Let me think…_**

"So, where are we going?" questioned Saber while Rin tried to ignore the talking in her head, both of them going up faster and faster each second.

"First, we wait until the Clocktower doesn't try to follow us with an army of Enforcers, at least for a time. Then…" the mind of the Magus flashed back towards the newspaper she read that morning, before all this craziness began. "We go to Japan. I think I know where Shirou is…" she looked toward the shocked blonde. "And I think that maybe he would have some answers about all of this, too."

**_Then, our path is chosen. Onwards, Magician of Rage and Knight of Hope. No matter what the future has in store for you… All will be well._**

Both women smiled for a moment, their eyes widening when they exited the atmosphere of their planet and the eternal darkness filled with shining stars greeted them…

**_… that's it! Crimson Ruby! Because, you know, you shot explosive rubies! And crimson is the color of blood! How do you like it?! Sounds great and 'raging', right?!_**

"Oh, would you shu… Hey… that doesn't sounds too bad at all…" muttered the Crimson Ruby for a second, before blinking, confused. "Wait… that doesn't sound any 'raging' at all."

Saber looked with a raised eyebrow how the first of many pointless discussions between the Rage beast and his Avatar began.

On a side note, down there, in the chaos that London had become, the stunned Enforcers were trying to think what they would tell to their superiors to excuse the total disaster that the day had been.

They couldn't.

And the idiots still hadn't realized how a lot of people were uploading photos of the destruction and the colored blurs from their mobile phones.

It was finally time for technology, the 'magic' of the normal humans, to give a kick in the balls to the bastards of the Clocktower that had been fucking them for centuries.

* * *

"Ugh…" his head hurt a lot, and everything was black.

**_Our connection… weak…_**

"What?"

**_Remember… save Parallax Ava… from herse…_**

"What are you saying? I can't… hear you…"

**_Also…ect the little…_**

"What little?" muttered the man, starting to open his eyes.

**_PROTECT THE LITTLE ONE…!_**

"SHIROU!"

Emiya Shirou awoke with a yelp when multiple voices cried his name and a tiny Sekirei slammed against his chest.

"Onii-chan, you woke up!" cried Kusano with a happy smile.

"Husband, thanks god!" added Tsukiumi while embracing one of his arms.

"Shirou-tan!" Matsu looked immensely relieved while grabbing her other arm. "I'm so happy!"

"Shirou-sama!" Musubi quickly summed to her 'sisters' campaign of 'squeezing Shirou to death', only that she used her chest for it, pressing it against his head in a really exaggerated hug. "You were amazing! You're the strongest and most amazing Ashikabi in the world!"

**_At ease, my child. You're strangling him._**

"Oh, sorry! It was my fault, heh, heh." Laughed the fist-Sekirei while putting a hand on her head and sticking out her tongue, allowing Shirou to breathe once again. "Thanks, Predator-chan!"

"Predator-chan?" questioned Shirou while trying to disentangle himself from his immensely relieved and affectionate Sekirei.

"It's her new imaginary friend, don't worry about it bro." grinned Uzume, in whose lap a relieved and smiling Chiho was sitting. The busty Sekirei suddenly embraced her Ashikabi and directed a solemn look towards the Magus, confusing him. "Shirou… thanks."

"Uh?"

"You did it, Emiya-kun." the red-haired man turned to look towards Miya, who seemed torn between smiling happily or start to severely reprimand him. "You stopped it. You saved us all."

"You're in all the covers, man." said Seo while throwing a newspaper to his side, his two Sekirei watching him with a mix of relief and caution, as if expecting him to suddenly explode or something. "I have to said, though, that was surely the most awesome and crazy thing I had ever seen."

The newspaper cover was occupied by the image of an emerald giant struggling against an enormous fireball, the words 'Emerald Blade saves Shin Tokyo!' just above it.

Shirou's eyes widened, the confusion disappearing from his mind as the memories of what happened rushed through his head.

The meteor. Trying to stop it. The voice. The Power. Using an absurdly powerful combination of his abilities and the ring. Launching the burning mass of satellites back at space. And…

"How long have I been out?" questioned Shirou while trying to remember what had happened after that.

He remembered suddenly feeling very tired and…

"Almost a day. We were very worried, Shirou-san!" explained Chiho in an extremely cute way, making Uzume chuckle and embrace her tighter. "I knew that with Avalon your injuries would heal fast, but I didn't know when you would wake up, so…!"

"Shirou." Haruka's voice suddenly interrupted Chiho, making Shirou look at him with a raised eyebrow at his unusually serious expression, Kuno looking at him worriedly. Then, he got on his knees and BOWED to him. "I'm sorry for all the…'things' I said about you. Tha-thanks for saving us… really."

"Ye-yes! Thank you very much!" meekly added Kuno while imitating his Ashikabi.

"Ah, uhm, you're welcome?" normally, the Magus wouldn't accept any thanks for doing what he thought was normal (Risking his life to save others), but the awkwardness of the moment and what the boy and Sekirei were doing summed with the dull ache in his body make him consider that it wouldn't hurt to accept it.

"We were all worried for you, Emiya-kun." Miya's voice sounded more… deep than anything Shirou could remember about her. "Your Sekirei… no, everyone here was on edge and almost couldn't sleep because you wouldn't wake up…"

Shirou vaguely noted how the landlady had included herself in that declaration.

"I'm sorry… I didn't want to made any of you worried." he muttered awkwardly while standing up, feeling the strange tiredness in his bones and muscles. Prana exhaustion. His lack of any apparent physical injuries suggested that Avalon had been working extensively, and it had consumed his Od much faster than before, as his ring had said. "Ring, give me a scan of Avalon's and my body state, please."

Only silence answered him. He confusedly noted how the mood in the room changed to a darker one, even Musubi and Kusano looking a little… gloomy.

The Magus looked towards the silent ring in his right hand. Why hadn't he answered his…?

_"Phs%$&… Power Levels at 1%."_ answered a distorted and mechanic monotone voice. _"Urgent re-charge needed. W rning, severe damage in the &nternal A.I, self-repartion protocols bl00cked by unknown source. Contact with /()( Guardians to #$ reparations of the ?¿…"_

A lot of static sound followed before the ring fell silent once again, Shirou's now pale face fixed in it.

"You… you were falling, your Aura-thing was failing, and he said something about goodbye and…!" Matsu stopped her words a moment, taking a deep breath before calming down and staring directly at her Ashikabi. "He did… something, somehow used his own… A.I's energy, or something, I don't know, but he teleported you to ten meters above the garden. You crashed against the tree and we arrived in time to see your uniform disappear."

"It… no, He started talking like that just after. We didn't know what to do…" Homura's voice sounded strangely low while saying that. "I can't believe a ring did a better job helping my Ashikabi than I..."

"Onii-chan, Ring-chan is sick." muttered Kusano while passing a hand over Shirou's right hand, looking worried. "Can you heal him?"

The Magus looked from her to the others and then back at the ring. The damaged tool… no, it wasn't a tool; it was a companion… an injured friend.

Whatever he had done, the ring had known it would let him in a state so bad that, apparently, it was needed intervention from his creators to repair his 'mind'. His 'unreachable from another universe' creators.

And he still had sacrificed himself to save him, just after he saved the city from a terrible disaster.

He was sure there was a really twisted irony in that. Somewhere.

"I'm going to recharge him." he declared while closing his fist, looking firmly at the conduit of Willpower. "And then… I hope I can figure something out."

None of the other occupants of the room missed the determined look in his face while he brought out his Power Battery. Then, the Magus blinked, almost as if just realizing something.

"Ehm, is something wrong, Shirou?" questioned Seo before any of the Sekirei could do it.

"… in how many of the newspaper you said that was?" slowly asked the red head, just now noticing that the one in the ground wasn't just a local one.

It was an international newspaper.

Somewhere, Archer was laughing harder. He was sure of it.

* * *

"Well… this is seriously unexpected." muttered Zelretch while reading a newspaper, just at the side of a stand whose owner was watching the oddly dressed old man in front of him with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, I never intended for things to get out of hand like this, you know? It was just an accident at first, but I thought it wouldn't do any harm to let the events play out; an opportunity for amusement like this only happens once every ten thousand universes, after all. But now…" the Kaleidoscope sighed, closing the paper and narrowing his eyebrows thoughtfully. "Things that were out of my expectations happened."

"Ehm, sorry sir, but… what the hell are you talking about?"

"I mean, I was sure that the kid would do something interesting with the ring, you know? Even if he wasn't like his original and most 'naïve' self, the inherent reason for what Green Lanterns exists is practically the same as his ideal… But this?" he signaled at the image in the cover. "He has been a Lantern for barely a week. He shouldn't be able to do things like this. I mean, it's not that impressive, in my prime I stopped THE Moon himself, and I can assure you that he was a really asshole."

"… sir, I'm going to call the police if you don't go away now."

"Also, the other rings. Why are they here?" continued the Wizard Marshal, and the vendor didn't know how lucky he was that he was ignoring him. "In the beginning I dismissed it, thinking it would be something easy to fix, a little unexpected twist… but then the maniac who was secretly obsessed with him obtained one, and the love-love-girl another… That made me suspect it, but after this and the weird thing I felt coming from London I'm sure." Zelretch looked at the man right in the eyes, and he almost flinched at the unnatural stare. "Someone or something is interfering. Maybe it has been since I 'borrowed' the ring from Oa. It's preventing me from seeing things that I should; meaning that he/she/it somehow knew that I was going to take the ring from the Guardians and took advantage of it to set all of this going. And I don't like being used."

"O-okay… and what are you going to do about it, sir?" nervously asked the vendor, wondering if he would be able to run away from this weirdo before he tried to harm him.

"I'm going to go back to Oa and kindly ask the Guardians if they know something about the other rings. Maybe by now they have already calmed a little and won't try to blow me to nonexistence…" muttered the Sorcerer before looking around and blinking. "Well, normally I shouldn't do this, but what the hell, everyone here already saw the boy stopping a burning meteor using green light." Zelretch smiled while a kaleidoscope of colors engulfed him, making the other man gap. "I hope you have a good day, but I would try to move out of this city if I were you."

Then, he was gone, leaving the incredulous vendor staring to the space he had occupied moments before with shocked eyes.

"… I probably should stop smoking that shit before coming to work…"

* * *

_"Power Levels at 100%. Warn&ing, ext€nsi%&ve A.I damage detec-ted. Self-re%¶tion; protocols bl0ck€d by unknown so22urce. Please, re456port to the Gu rdians i**$diately for repar()ations."_

"Dammit…" growled Shirou while worriedly looking towards his ring.

He had recharged it, and checked that he could still activate his suit, Power Aura and constructs. Essentially, the ring worked perfectly and there was nothing wrong with it.

Except the fact that what made the ring what it was, his A.I… no, his personality, was gone. And he had not a dammed idea of what to do to repair it.

The Magus let out a frustrated sigh. Once again, he couldn't help someone who was just in front of him.

"Ring-san doesn't go better?" questioned Musubi while looking worriedly upon Shirou's shoulder. "Predator-chan, don't you know any form to help him?"

**_I'm sorry, my child, but I'm not very knowledgeable about the conduits that the Guardians created to harness the power of the light._**

"Oh. Too bad…" muttered the fist-fighter, understanding all of that as a simple 'No'.

"I'm sorry about what happened to the ring, Emiya-kun." muttered Miya while bringing some cups of tea for everyone. Seo, Haruka and their Sekirei had retired a while back, promising to tell Shirou how Yukari was when they found her (And swearing to NEVER let her know about his 'secret identity'), so only the Inn residents were in the living room, trying to distract themselves with something or, most of the time, looking worriedly at Shirou. "Do you think you could fix him?"

"Honestly… no." Shirou looked downcast while closing his fist, staring intently at the ring. "I doubt any magical means can fix it, and probably it would be impossible even with the most advanced technology in the world."

"Ring-chan is not going to get better?" asked a teary Kusano, making Shirou's heart clench. "That's unfair! He saved Onii-chan, he should be here happy with us!"

The Magus lowered his gaze while staring once again at his silent Power Ring. Damn, if only there was some way to…!

"Shirou-tan?" Matsu's voice echoed strangely in the living room, and Shirou realized that she had an unusually serious look in her face. "I think… I think that maybe I can do something."

Everyone blinked repeatedly while looking at her.

"Wait… are you saying you can fix him? Really?" asked a skeptical Tsukiumi.

"Matsu, is not that I doubt your abilities or anything, but I think that this surpass you a little…" added Kazehana with a raised eyebrow.

"That ring could hack every camera in the city and enter in MBI database in seconds without any effort. I know I would never be able to repair it, even if I live a hundred years." declared Matsu, not losing the determination in her eyes for a second. "But maybe I can help him 'heal' himself."

"What the hell are you talking about?" questioned Homura while Shirou looked towards the Wisdom Sekirei in silence.

"You hear him, right? It said that his self-reparation protocols were blocked by an 'unknown source'. I think is that 'blocking' thing that he mentioned repeatedly. Remember how he said that there was something impeding him to access some of his data?" Matsu didn't even give the rest time to answer before taking of her glasses and sitting in front of the Magus. "If I can remove whatever its blocking him, maybe he would be able to repair himself."

"Matsu… that sounds crazy, maybe even dangerous." Shirou looked at the Sekirei with a difficult expression in his face. "We don't even know how your powers would react if you try to enter HERE." he raised the ring. "I tried to see inside there with my Magecraft, and it almost killed me. Also, you don't even know if you will be able to remove…"

"He saved you." suddenly muttered the red-headed woman, making the Magus freeze. "We couldn't do anything for you, even when we are your Sekirei… but he saved you by harming himself to do it." the determination in her eyes seemed stronger than ever. "Please, Ashikabi-sama. Let me try and do it for him… let me try to return the favor by saving him."

Shirou fell silent, looking intently at the alien woman in front of him, wondering…

Was this how others saw him when he was determined to save someone?

_'Do you want an honest answer or was that a rhetorical question?'_

'Heh, who is the one that's asking stupid things now?'

The Magus lips broke into a tiny smile while he opened his eyes. That had decided it.

"Please, give me my Norito, Shirou-tan." smiled Matsu after looking at her Ashikabi's eyes. "I'm going to need it."

Moments after, everyone was staring with a mix of expectation and nervousness at Shirou and Matsu, both of them sitting in seiza in front of each other.

"If it looks like something strange happens, I want you stop. Is that clear, Matsu?" the Magus voice was as steel while saying that, looking severely at his Sekirei.

The alien woman just smiled. It was so sweet how worried for her he was!

"As clear as water, Shirou-tan! Well then…" she looked around and smiled. "Wish me luck, everyone!"

Then, she touched the ring, still in Shirou's hand, with one of her fingers.

Her smile disappeared and her body went unnaturally still, her eyes closing.

When they opened again, everyone (Sans Musubi and Kusano) tensed at seeing the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps shining in them.

* * *

"Woah… this is… not what I was expecting." muttered Matsu while looking around.

Somehow, the moment she had activated her powers in the ring, she had ended up floating in the middle of an apparently infinite space full of millions of thousands upon millions of thousands of rapidly moving emerald numbers, letters and a lot of symbols she didn't recognized, some of them grouped in strange patterns and some in strange geometrical forms.

She realized dazedly that she was probably looking at the base code that allowed the use of light to make imagination into reality.

The Sekirei started floating forward while pointedly not looking at the groups of codes for more than a few seconds. She knew that she would go insane and her mind would break if she let it wander through the meaning of even the tiniest part of those formulas.

_You… shouldn't be… here…_

"Ring? Uh, I mean… Is that you, ehm, A.I.?"

_Get… out… your mind is… in danger here…_

"Okay, let's ignore that and try to think…" she muttered while quickly sweeping her gaze around, not stopping her movement. "If I was a sinister and unknown program powerful enough to block the systems of a tool that can use light to made thoughts in reality, were would I be?"

_Thinking aloud… is pointless… Matsu…_

"Hey, you didn't add 'Sekirei' this time!" laughed the woman… before seeing IT.

It wasn't that she really saw anything, it was the fact the she _couldn't_ see it what made her realize. There, in the middle of the infinite ocean of emerald codes, was a point, a single point no bigger than a man, where her eyes just 'couldn't focus'.

Like something was trying to tell her brain 'There is absolutely nothing here at all'.

That thought make her shiver and slowly float towards it, ignoring the fading echo resounding in the background.

_Where… are you… going… there is… nothing there…_

"What is this…?" wondered the Wisdom Sekirei while trying to take a good look at the thing that her eyes refused to see, something that was starting to give her a headache.

Whatever it was, it has lost some power the moment she had realized it existence, but it was still so strong, so… 'Unnatural', that made her head feel like something was starting to swing a hammer at it repeatedly.

She could _almost_ see it, just at the edge of her vision, at the corner of her eyes…

It looked like… a symbol? An inverted triangle… with five straight verticals lines surging from its base…

The pain in her head increased tenfold and almost made her scream, her hands shooting to grab her head.

**YOU DON'T BELONG HERE…**

"Okay, that's it, to hell with all!" she shouted with all her might, deciding that, for one time, logic didn't mattered and she was going to do things the 'Musubi way'.

She plunged her hands in the symbol and ripped it in two, with all the might of her mind.

She started screaming, emerald light surrounding her and everything she could see…

And, in the distance, she could have sworn that she saw a giant shark-whale swimming towards her…

* * *

No one knew exactly what to expect to happen, but after almost ten minutes of Matsu standing totally still everyone was feeling really unnerved.

Shirou was just about to separate the ring from her and try to wake her up when she started screaming.

Green electricity shot out of the ring, enveloping her and Shirou and making the Magus scream too.

"GAAAHHH!"

"What the hell?!" cried Homura while standing up.

"Separate them, now!" ordered Miya while covering the suddenly scared Kuu's eyes.

"Husband, Matsu, don't worry, I…! AGH!" Tsukiumi hadn't even walked two steps towards them before the wild emerald light threw her back against the wall.

"We can't get near them!" screamed Kazehana while trying to use her wind to contain the electricity, vaguely noting how Akitsu was doing the same with her ice. "What do we do?!"

"Musubi will help!" cried the Sekirei while pointing with her ring towards the screaming pair… without any result. "Uh?! Why is ring-chan not working?!

**_You forgot to recharge it, my child. You were all day at the side of your beloved without doing any more than staring at him, remember?_**

_"Attempting… Experimental A.I. reparation protocols…"_ suddenly resounded the monotone voice of the ring. _"Analyzing brain patterns… to restructuration process… copying… executing…"_

"Chiho, get out of the room, now!" shouted Uzume while cloth came to life out of nowhere around her.

"Uzume-chan, what…?!"

"Hang in there, bro, Matsu!" roared the Veiled Sekirei before throwing twin streams of white cloth towards Matsu, getting a hold in her shoulders and biting back a scream when the electricity hit her too. Then, she brutally pulled and separated the Wisdom Sekirei from Shirou, ending the angry display of green light and slamming her against her own body. "Got… you…!"

"Uzume-chan!" cried Chiho while running to her Sekirei side, helping her to her feet.

"Onii-chan!" shouted Kusano while getting out of Miya's arms and running towards the smoking Green Lantern.

"Emiya-kun! Are you alright?!" the landlady voice was full of worry while she helped the Magus to stand up, the rest of her Sekirei quickly joining her, Akitsu using her powers to try and level the extra heat that his body seemed to be feeling.

"Hot… hurts…" growled Shirou while shaking his head, before quickly blinking and looking towards the only unconscious person in the room. "MATSU!" the red-head quickly ran to the side of the fallen Sekirei being lifted by Uzume, everyone else joining him quickly. "Matsu, are you alright?! I'm sorry; I should never have let you…!"

"… I'm… never doing things Musubi's way again…" the bespectacled woman opened her eyes and coughed, filling everyone with relief. "Never."

"Eh, what do you mean by that?" questioned the confused fist-fighter while Shirou embraced Matsu and helped her to stand up again… but an unexpected voice ran through the living room before anyone could answer her.

_"I-it worked! I can't believe it, sweet Guardians! I'm alive! And I remember everything!"_ everyone in the room blinked and looked around, trying to find from where the strangely young voice was coming. It sounded like the one a kid of twelve or eleven years would have, but also strangely… deep. _"I remember about the other Corps! And also about the Emotional Entities! Yahoo!"_

"Wait a minute…" slowly, Shirou and everyone else's gazes lowered towards the shining tool in the Magus finger. "… Ring? Is that you?"

_"Yes Shirou, it's me! I'm back, can you believe it? Oh, and all the things that I remember now…! I even know how they created me! A Guardian extracted a tiny little fragment of Ion himself and decided to use it to create a TRUE living intelligence to put into a ring, so technically I'm not an A.I, I'm a living being!"_ the ring seemed so happy that it wasn't noticing the confusion in everyone else's stares, and also how a lot of what he said went right over their heads_. "Don't you think that's great? It's all thanks to Matsu-kaasan, if it wasn't for her I would have…!"_

"Wait. Stop right there." Matsu's finger trembled repeatedly while she raised it to signal at the ring. "Did you just call me… mom?"

_"Uh… I did, didn't I?"_ mused the Power Ring aloud_. "Sorry about that, it must have been an… ingrained reaction. You see, I damaged most of my existence by converting it to Willpower to save Shirou's… I mean, Lantern Emiya's life! And the experimental process that just restored me, the one you activated when breaking that strange thing, worked by copying the brain patters of the Lantern and using them and Willpower to try to restore my own mind, but well, you were there too, and the break of that set the ring's… my systems out of control, so…"_

"It also used MY brain patters to fill the gap." finished Matsu with a shocked expression, everyone else trying to comprehend what exactly was going on.

"So, let me get this straight. The little friend here just made a copy of a part of both your minds to reborn or something, right?" Uzume's face turned into a mischievous grin. "Doesn't that make him like, your son or something?"

All hell broke loose just after those words.

"Wha-what the hell are you saying, Uzume?!"

"Their… son?"

"Oh my, what a strange from to bring a child to the world."

"Miya please, not you too!"

_"Ehm, no, I don't really think that…"_

"Does that mean that ring-chan is part of our family now? Yay! That's great!"

_"No, Kuu-chan, that really doesn't… wait a minute, did I just call you 'Kuu-chan'?! And now that I realize, why does my voice sounds like that of pre-adolescent?!"_

"Great, everybody is happy again, the Power of Love triumphs!"

"The power or love didn't have anything to do with this, Musubi!"

**_Silly being, EVERYTHING has to do with the Power of Love!_**

"Yeah, what Predator-chan said!"

"Can you please not bring up your imaginary friend in this already fucked up and pointless discussion?!"

"Ah. I want to have a son with Ashikabi-sama too."

"Akitsu, now REALLY is not the time to say things like that!"

_"Hey guys, I think something is veeery wrong with me. I don't know why, but I'm suddenly feeling the urge to cook something!"_

"Can you even cook?"

"Kuu can help ring-chan to cook if he makes a shiny sword for her!"

"NO!"

"Uzume-chan, lo-look what mess did you made!"

"Hah, now I understand why Matsu enjoys this so much!" the busty brunette turned to look at the Wisdom Sekirei, the only one who wasn't participating in the silly discussion, and who still seemed to be in state of shock. "I think the poor girl is going to need some time before her brain reboots."

And another typical evening in Izumo Inn started.

000000000000000000000

"Ugh… dammit…"

**_What's the matter, Karasuba? You don't look very good…_**

"Shut… up, Parallax!" growled the gray-haired Sekirei while curling upon itself in fetal position, once again in that abandoned cottage in a forest, not noticing the mockery in the Entity's words.

She felt feverish, for some reason, and her memory of what she had done after Musubi fell from the sky was strangely blurred, a dull ache throbbing in her head.

She also felt powerful, a strange, sinister and cold energy coursing through her veins like icy fire. Her body was perfect, it was her mind what feel strange and she didn't understand why.

**_Maybe you should stay here a couple of days, you know, to rest a little. After all, those two would still be there when you are feeling better, right?_**

"I said shut up! Thi-this is… nothing." the ex-Black Sekirei stood up, yellow light shining and turning her once again into Golden Shōkyaku. "I will kill them… and then turn everything to ashes…" her voice turned colder, the symbol of Fear replacing her pupils. "I will make them all scream in fear…"

**_Yes, Karasuba, that's it. Let the pain go away, let that which scares you become your strength… Your power…_**

"My… Power…" muttered Karasuba while raising her head, her mask turning in a sinister insect-like visage for a moment.

**_Exactly. Let Fear be your strength… Together, we don't need anyone else. We only need each other… and the Fear. The Avatars of Ion and the Predator… will be crushed…heh, heh, heh…!_**

Parallax' laugh echoed through the forest as Karasuba firmly grabbed her katana.

It was time to go back 'home'…

For the last time.

* * *

"…wait a minute. This isn't Oa…" muttered Zelretch while confusedly looking around. Everything around him was black, pitch black and… did the shadows just move? "What the…? BE GONE!" roared the Sorcerer while raising his hands, his eyes shining while a kaleidoscope of color shot out from his body, sending devastating quantities of pure Prana towards the strange and formless beings, which screamed in agony and quickly retired/vanished, letting the Wizard Marshal see the alien-looking sky and the strange place in where he was standing. "Demon Shadows? What am I doing in the Antimatter Universe?"

Maybe it was pretty close to the universe where he wanted to be, but the strange thing was that he NEVER made a mistake when jumping. He had been aiming to Oa in the universe he liked to call 'DC', not here in… the Qwardian Planet? How in the Root's name had he ended up he…?

"Finally. Just as I was told, you have come, Dimensional Magician." Zelretch stood still. All around him, the universe seemed to have gone silent, fear and terror and death seeping through the ancient voice. And POWER too, pure destruction made into words. "You will open gates for me. Doors to new Universes from where I will feed…"

The master of the Second Magic slowly turned around, doing his best to maintain his poker face.

There it was, towering over him, over everything in sight, like a god of old, a creature, no, an existence that only knew destruction.

For this was the Anti-Monitor, Devourer of Universes. A being that could give all the Ultimate Ones a run for their money.

The Kaleidoscope quickly called for his magic, and grimly realized that, even if he could still call upon the power of Parallel Dimensions, he couldn't open a portal to get himself out. Something was blocking him here, and that should have been impossible.

The bastard behind all this… had made him fall into a trap.

"I'm so very pissed right now that if it wasn't for the fact that I know exactly WHAT you are, I would have started shooting death rays from another dimension upon you thirty seconds ago."

"I will take that as a sign that you don't intend to obey me without being forced to." the Anti-Monitor raised his titanic fists, pure destruction coursing through them in a mockery of electricity. "Very well. I will have to make you submit, pathetic being."

"I'm too old for this shit." growled Zelretch before raising his hands, his eyes shining with power while preparing himself for a fight that he knew couldn't win… but that wouldn't stop him from surviving to kick whoever had done this to him in the balls. NO ONE laughed of Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg! "Come and try your luck, bowl-head."

What was probably one of the greatest and most awesome battles in all the history of the Multiverse was about to begin…!

Too bad there wasn't anyone there to witness it.

* * *

"Ugh… stupid headache…" sighed Matsu, sitting in her room while looking towards her monitors.

After the little…'event' of the evening, and a lot of effort from her, Shirou and the ring's part to make clear that no, they weren't suddenly his parents just because he had used their brain waves to restore his mind, things had gone a little hectic while everyone celebrated the ring's return and Shirou announced that, once this crazy matter with Karasuba and the other rings had ended, he would start thinking of a form to stop Minaka once and for all and finish the Sekirei Plan.

That had brought a smile to the face of most than one. With his ring, it wasn't an impossible dream, but almost that seemed almost easy, especially with all of MBI satellites reduced to space junk.

Also, if what the ring had told them about the so-called 'Emotional Entities' was true, then the new imaginary friend of Musubi wasn't so imaginary after all. Not to mention that Shirou said that he had heard a strange voice that gave him extra power when he stopped the satellite, calling himself Ion, the Incarnation of Willpower according to the ring.

Hmm, calling him just 'ring' felt wrong now that they knew that he was somehow 'alive'. Maybe she should start thinking about a name for him…?

"Matsu, dinner is almost ready, come down!" shouted Musubi's voice from the hallway.

The Wisdom Sekirei sighed once again while shaking her head… and her gaze fell in the little drawing she had made, etched in one of the papers that Kusano usually used for her own little squiggles.

She grabbed it, looking intently at the simple-looking symbol in it, as if staring at it would be enough to make it reveal its secrets.

It was the same one she vaguely remembered, the one that has been blocking the ring. Just an inverted triangle with five straight lines coming out of it, inside a circle…

A seemingly random thought assaulted Matsu's mind.

It looked like a _hand_.

That brought something to the front of her mind. A strange and detached phrase that had echoed in her brain the moment she had broken that…'seal'. She nervously looked around before, for some reason, muttering the sinister words out loud.

"By my Black Hand…" her breath caught, almost as if something primal inside of her feared the words that came next. "…the Dead shall Rise." she finished.

Nothing happened. Only silence echoed in the room and she let out a breath she didn't knew had been containing. Of course nothing was going to happen, silly Matsu! Sometimes she worried too much!

"Matsu! Are you coming or not?" echoed Shirou's voice from the floor below.

"Yeah, don't start dinner without me, Shirou-tan!" answered the bespectacled Sekirei while quickly running out of her room, smiling.

She didn't noticed how tiny black tendrils had surged from her drawing, outlining the sinister symbol in black before slowly making it disappear.

She wouldn't notice it later, either, because all her memories about it had mysteriously slipped out of her mind.

And from the shadows, the **Darkness** silently watched…

After all, it was still too early for the Light to know about its presence…

* * *

**Chapter End.**

* * *

Wohoo, another chapter finished, folks! I hope you enjoyed it, and sorry for the lack of action, but don't worry, we're nearing the season's end, and I can assure you that there would be tons of explosions and awesomess soon enough!

Well, things seem to have gone out of control now! What will happen with Rin and Saber now that they have gone out of the planet?! Will they come back in time to help with the shit that's going to fall down upon Shin Tokyo?! What was the strange symbol that was blocking the ring (as if it wasn't obvious)?! What's Parallax doing with Karasuba's mind?! Why does it seems that every silly question can bring mayhem upon Emiya Shirou's life?! Why am I making so many questions?!

And Zelretch has been tricked (A first in the Multiverse's history) and brought out of the stage, to fight against the Anti-Monitor himself, no less (If someone was expecting me to actually write that fight, I'm sorry, but I know that I wouldn't be able to do it justice. It would be much more awesome if you yourselves imagine it)! Would the Kaleidoscope survive or has the end finally arrived for the old vampire (Hahah)?

For those who doesn't know who or what is the Anti-Monitor, I suggest you to google it to see his image, but I would only said one thing: The title 'Devourer of Universes' isn't for giggles. It's the pure truth. All said.

Oh, and before I forget, the idea of Shirou's ring was inspired by the latest Green Lantern Animated Series, where a Guardian extracted a fragment of Ion from the Central Battery and used it to create a true intelligence to use as the computer of an experimental ship, who ended developing emotions, personality and feelings, calling herself AYA. The idea of someone doing something similar but with a Power Ring occurred to me to add a little funny twist to the story XD

And so, with that out of the way, I bid you all goodbye until next time my beloved readers, I hope you all have a good day. And watch out, the Darkness is WATCHING…

This is Saint, signing off! Bye!


	12. Chapter 11: Terror, Unleashed!

Hello again everyone, welcome once again to the Emerald Blade, the fanfic about how a group of rings try to change a world full of injustice and angsty things into a more fair one!

… ina twisted sense, I think that's what the most deep argument of the story is about, don't you think XD? Well, not much else to say this week, there were a couple of specific questions in the reviews but it prefer not saying anything so as not to made important spoilers. After all, we have to enjoy the plot, right?

And with that said, I leave you all with the fic! The Season's end is approaching, and things are about to get really wild! Here we go!

* * *

**Chapter 11: What do you truly Fear? Terror, Unleashed! **or _"Shit. Just. Got. Real."_

The first sign that Matsu got that something strange was happening was when she woke up, yawning, wondering if she would be able to finally convince Shirou to pass a little time 'experimenting' with her.

Then, she blinked, noticing how all her computers were on, when she clearly remembered having turned them off last night, all of them quickly changing between hundreds of websites which content would have made Miya spent a good couple of hours 'lecturing' her about the respect for the rules of the Izumo Inn.

"What the…?" exclaimed Matsu while looking around, confused, before all the monitors stopped and turned themselves off. "Wait… did I just did that…unconsciously?"

The Wisdom Sekirei blinked the sleep out of herself while she neared one of the computers, noticing something strange.

She could **see** the components of the machines. In the sense that, she was seeing through all of them as if she had suddenly gained X-ray vision, and she could also perfectly identify each and every one of the parts and internal workings of the devices, even the componentsthat formed other bigger parts. And she could also perfectly tell how each of them worked in tandem with the others, even how each one was assembled to create the whole of the computers. She could almost see herself perfectly disassembling the whole thing and reassembling it once again without any pro…

She blinked once again. Wait, that was impossible. Maybe her powers let her control machines with her mind to a certain extent, but nothing more. She was no engineer, she wouldn't be able to dismount even half of a computer without the need of a guide, no matter how easy the floating and currently in the process of disassembling itself one in front of her made it seem…

Wait, what?

Matsu froze, finally noticing how she had absentmindedly raised a hand and one of her computers CPU's had simply started to float in mid-air in front of her, a little green electric current coursing through it as screws floated out of their places, and each component of it, perfectly clear in her mind, levitated almost in formation, surrounding the stunned Wisdom Sekirei while a lot of possibilities seemed to assault her mind. With these parts, she could start constructing whole different things, and with others more she even could…

"Matsu, is everything alright? It's almost time for breakfast!" merrily announced Uzume while opening the secret door, making the aforementioned Sekirei to squeak and the strange phenomenon to end, all the parts of the disassembled computer falling to the ground in a haphazard heap. "What the…?! Matsu, are you alright?!" the busty brunette looked in confusion to the fallen pieces. "What were you…? What happened?"

"I… I don't know…" answered Matsu while looking towards her hands as if she was seeing them for the first time. "I think… that something strange is happening to me."

While trying to calm down her bespectacled friend, Uzume was unable to notice how, for a moment, the symbol of Will appeared inside her irises.

* * *

Cutting through the air like a bullet, a golden glow flew towards Shin Tokyo.

"Fear… is my power…"

Inside the glow, a woman who barely kept being herself was staring ahead, the symbol of the Sinestro Corps shining in her eyes.

"Terror… is what my enemies feel…"

**_We're arriving. Are you prepared, Karasuba?_**

"All of them will be crushed…They will scream for me as I turn them to ashes…"

**_Excellent, heh, heh, heh… It's almost time. Now go, my Sekirei, go and show them the inescapable truth that is Fear!_**

"Show them…" she looked absently as the first row of buildings came to view, her face twisting into a bloodthirsty grin. "COME OUT, EMERALD BLADE!" she roared while swinging her katana, splitting the middle of a street in two and making everyone start screaming and running. "COME AND FACE YOUR END!"

And all the while, Parallax kept laughing, absorbing all the Fear produced by the scared humans.

Only a little more now…

* * *

Shirou was happily humming while preparing breakfast (Glad that Miya had allowed him to do it all the week as 'reward' for saving the city), with Akitsu slowly and methodically helping as always and Kazehana looking on with a smile, setting the table, when a worried-looking Uzume and an anxious Matsu came running downstairs, the latter out of breath.

"Shirou-tan, something very strange is happening!" shouted the Wisdom Sekirei, almost crashing against a wall for coming down so fast.

"Uh?" muttered the Green Lantern while turning around, his apron with the words _'Kiss the cook'_shinning against the morning light and a spoon in his hand.

The protector of the universe, ladies and gentlemen.

_"It's something wrong, okaa… I mean, Matsu?!"_ quickly corrected himself the Power Ring, earning himself a stare from the Sekirei and a sigh from Shirou.

"Ehm, yeah, Matsu is… well, see for yourself." explained Uzume, signaling for Matsu to begin.

"Okay…" the bespectacled woman raised a hand.

All the electrical appliances in the kitchen suddenly turned off. Everyone blinked.

"Uhm… Yes Matsu, we all know that you can control machines, but what's the problem?" questioned the confused Magus, making a beat of sweat to appear in the Sekirei's head.

"Ugh! No, Shirou-tan, that's not…!" Matsu suddenly stopped and sighed, only to spread her hands apart with a concentrated look in her face, Shirou's eyes going wide when he saw the toaster fly in the air and disassemble itself in all his parts, an emerald electric current coursing through every one of them as they floated around the Wisdom Sekirei. Then, she snapped her fingers and the appliance assembled itself once more before landing at her Ashikabi's side. "See?"

A stunned silence fallen upon the kitchen. Akitsu looked intently between the toaster and Matsu.

"Ah. Good job, Matsu." praised the Ice Sekirei, not quite knowing what else to say.

"What the…?! How did you do that?!" exclaimed Shirou while putting away his apron.

"I don't know! When I woke up this morning my computers were doing really weird things, and then I was sort of seeing through them, and I made one of them start floating, and, and…!" Matsu tried to calm herself down while Shirou quickly make his ring scan her, a green light washing over her body. "What's happening to me…?"

"Ring? What do you have?" asked a serious looking Shirou.

_"This… I can't believe it. Matsu, I'm not exactly sure how, but… your brain is generating low-level waves of Willpower." _revealed the ring, making Kazehana's, Matsu's and Uzume's eyes go wide. Shirou just gaped incredulity at the conduit of Will and Akitsu… well, she just cocked her head at the side.

"Wha-what do you mean?! Are you saying that my brain is turning into a ring?!" shouted the Wisdom Sekirei while grabbing her head, suddenly looking extremely scared.

_"No! I mean that, somehow, your brain has become a pseudo-conduit for the Green Light. Is very rare, but there have been cases when some beings gain some sort of control over it after an unusual exposure to pure Willpower or…"_

"… when Matsu broke that thing inside you?" questioned the Magus, his mind trying to understand the implications and if Matsu was in some sort of danger.

_"Probably. I mean, there has never been anyone who has done something as stup… ehem, as brave as entering inside a Power Ring with their mind." _quickly explained the ring.

"Wait, then why am I reacting like this? I can't make any weird green-light things; I tried when I saw the green electricity!" Matsu declared while pointing to the living room, where the television suddenly turned on and started changing channels at full speed. "It's only working with machines, even some that I couldn't directly access before for obvious reasons!

_"Well, it probably has something to do with the fact that it was only your MIND what was exposed directly to an explosion of pure Willpower." _theorized the ring under the attempt gazes of everyone present. _"If what Shirou told me when he explained the powers of every one of you is right, then you are one of the only two exceptions of your whole species whose powers works only with your mind and not your body. Maybe that's why the little Will that your brain is generating is not granting you Lantern-like powers, but instead… upgrading your natural abilities."_

"Upgrading how?" insisted Shirou while looking worriedly at Matsu. "Also, it isn't dangerous for her to have her brain doing… that, right?"

_"No, at least none of the previously recorded cases of something similar has ever showed any negative effects." _the ring's words managed to calm down everyone's tension, if the sighs of relief were any indication. _"Even so, I think it would be prudent if Shirou let me run some more scans while we determine what exactly can you do no…"_

And that was the moment when the sound of distant explosions started to resound, making everyone jump in surprise.

"What the…?! What was that?!" shouted Homura while entering the kitchen, her eyes full of concern.

_"Spike in the Emotional Spectrum detected! Source: …Fear."_ Shirou's face turned grim upon hearing his ring's words. _"Golden Shōkyaku is back."_

Everyone else paled, even if it wasn't that obvious in Akitsu. Shirou's eyes barreled through the house while his ring quickly answered to his mind's command and scanned it.

Kusano was sleeping in the second floor, but that probably wouldn't last if more of those explosions keep sounding.

No one else was there.

"Where are Miya and the others?!" questioned Shirou while an emerald light enveloped his body, the heroic form of the Emerald Blade appearing in his place.

"They… went to buy some groceries…" muttered Homura before her eyes hardened, looking directly at Shirou. "I'm going with you."

The Green Lantern hesitated just a second before turning towards Matsu.

"Keep everyone connected. Kazehana, go with Homura. Akitsu, stay here and don't let anything happen to Matsu or Kuu." receiving nods of confirmation from his Sekirei, the Magus noticed how Uzume was already running out of the house, reminding him that Chiho was too with the others, out there.

Another explosion resounded, much more closely this time.

"Ah." The red-haired man turned to look towards Akitsu, who was looking intensely at him. "Take care, Ashikabi-sama."

Shirou almost fell that, if the woman could express more emotions in her words, that would have been a 'Don't do anything mortally stupid again."

"I… will." he vaguely answered before feeling his Power Aura coming to life. "I'm going ahead." finally declared the Magus before shooting himself through a window, towards the sky.

In the second floor of the Inn, Kusano suddenly woke up, her eyes filled with concern as she looked in a specific direction.

"Onii-chan… don't hurt the parasite…" she clutched herself. "That's what the Darkness wants…"

* * *

Miya had a happy smile on her face as she looked at the typical figures of Musubi and Tsukiumi arguing over little nonsense, a nervous-looking Chiho watching them with a little smile.

It seemed that the poor girl still hadn't totally adapted to some of the most peculiar quirks that their strange 'family' had.

Family… that word brought a pensive look to her face.

It had been so much time since she had seriously thought about that word. Since Takehito's death, more precisely. The purple-haired Sekirei had thought that the hope of having any true 'family' had died with her beloved husband. That was why she had decided to seclude herself and hide her identity from most of the other Sekirei. She could be the Number 001, the supposed 'leader' of them all, and she could still consider most of them as her 'beloved feathers'; but she had never had anything she could truly call 'Family' and never had thought that things would change too much in her silent but somewhat happy life.

Then, Emiya Shirou knocked on her door.

Since the first moment she saw him, the strongest Sekirei had known that there was something special about the young man. And dangerous. Even if his polite and cooking-lover behavior wasn't faked, Miya knew that there was something in his eyes that screamed of danger.

There was steel in his eyes.

Maybe that was the reason why she wasn't so surprised when he confronted her about her true nature. What really surprised her was that he didn't do it for fear for himself, but for the sake of his girls. And how, after getting her word that no harm would befall on either them or him, he hadn't pressed the subject about her nature as a Sekirei.

She started to see him differently from then on. He got more Sekirei, but always maintained his polite and somewhat embarrassed nature. He also showed to be a warrior, someone able to fight two Sekirei and still get out practically uninjured and wining. Even so, she didn't let it surprise her too much. The young red-head with eyes of steel and his girls had become a constant in her life almost as if it was something natural.

And then, his true secret came out, all of the darkness in his past (Or most of it, at least) being revealed after he killed that woman who had tried to kill them all, who had come after him. That really turned her world upside down: Magic, secret mystical organizations, monsters, rituals which made Heroes from the past come back to life…

She was truly reluctant to believe in the Magus at first, trying to find another explanation to his words and powers, because they would have meant that the world she believed to know was a lie, and that, as the Fraga woman had painfully shown her, she didn't truly had the power to protect the Sekirei from the more twisted side of humanity.

She had slayed countless of soldiers and destroyed more war machines that she could count in that now so far battle for the island, but she had almost died by the effort of only one of those Magus.

Even Shirou, seeming so powerful with his strange powers, accepted that he was pretty weak in comparison to most of the higher existences that plagued the darkest side of the world.

Miya's worries had become bigger and much more numerous, even if she didn't showed them, and as Minaka's sick game keep going on and things seemed to be escalating one way or another, she was unsure of what would happen in the future. Of what could happen to her new family.

That was when she realized that she had started to consider them as that. They were her family, and they seemed to think the same about her. That had made her happy, and even decreased her worries a little.

And then, as if the universe had heard her worries, that ring appeared in front of Shirou.

The Emerald Blade. Those three simple words, that name, title, something that seemed almost childish in comparison to the shadows that filled this world, had changed their lives for the better. Maybe the ring had brought more 'craziness' to their lives, but, after seeing the things Shirou did with him, it had also brought her hope. Hope that, in the end, maybe there could truly be a happy ending for her family.

"Miya-san? Are you okay?" the landlady blinked a couple of times before smiling at the young woman, who was looking worriedly at her. Hidaka Chiho was another of the things that the ring had brought to them, the happiness in Uzume upon the total recuperation of her Ashikabi and the fact that she no longer would have to obey Higa's order being another of the happy memories in her mind.

"Yes Chiho, I'm okay. I was just remembering something…" the woman giggled a little at the angry look in Tsukiumi's face, probably because of one of Musubi's usually spontaneous comments. "And thinking about what the future will bring."

"The future, uh?" muttered the Ashikabi with a pensive look in her face.

She seemed about to ask something to Miya before the first explosion rocketed through the street, making a lot of people cry out.

Miya moved with inhuman speed and precision, grabbing the startled Chiho and jumping out of the way as debris from a broken street exploded upon them. She was glad to see that the other two Sekirei had managed to evade it as well…

The blade of a yellow-glowing katana appeared out of nowhere and caressed her throat, making her body froze and Chiho to scream in fear.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a sinister voice whispered from above, the purple-haired woman eyes looking up to see the winged and demonic form of the only Sekirei she could truly said she really hated, with her blade extended almost 15 meters. "I wanted to kill Shirou first, but who am I to deny a gift of Fate?"

"Karasuba." coldly muttered Miya, feeling the trembling body of Chiho weight a ton in her arms. She was weaponless, and the grey-haired woman had that ring, but even so… "Let the girl go away. She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, really? You see, the old me would have had no problems with that, Miya-chan, after all, why care about something so insignificant?" the Sekirei Number 001 blinked, realizing that something was wrong. There was something… off, with Karasuba's voice tone. "But you see, I can taste her fear…" the blade moved slightly towards Chiho, making the girl sob a little, even if her eyes were still firmly open and fixed in Karasuba. "And it tastes **delicious.**"

Miya _moved_, kicking the blade away by its flat side with all her might and jumping away from Chiho, slamming a bare fist against the surprised Golden Shōkyaku.

She _smiled_, barely stumbling back a couple of meters in the air before a yellow aura formed around her and brutally launched the landlady through a couple of shops, her body crashing against the street.

"Guh!" Miya bitted back a scream as she felt a sharp pain running through her body. Even to her above-Sekirei body, that had hurt. A lot.

She didn't even have time to regain her bearings before and armored high-heeled boot slammed against her chest, stealing her breath away.

"Heh, heh, bet that you never expected to be in this position against me, right Miya?" the tip of Karasuba's sword inched dangerously close to the woman's clothes. "How does it feel, uh? To be the inferior one for the first time?"

"Stop…pretending." coughed the landlady while trying to move.

"…What?" the Sinestro Corps member arched an eyebrow when the other Sekirei just shot her a cynical smile.

"You're not Karasuba, so stop pretending to be her."

"?! Wha…?"

"I hate Karasuba. And she hates me too. But I know her, better than almost anyone probably. I have fought at her side, and I have seen her fight. And that's why I can tell that you're not her." Miya grunted while trying to pry Golden Shōkyaku off of her. "She can be a crazy-battle-maniac, but she wouldn't do any of this." she smiled fiercely. "It's just not her style."

"SILENCE!" roared the Avatar of Fear before brutally stomping upon the purple-haired woman, making her scream. "YOU KNOW NOTHING, PATHETIC SEKIREI! Do you think you know what's best for her?! Do you think any of you can understand her?! ONLY I CAN!" she raised Miya by the neck, the symbol of fear in her eyes changing to the roaring images of an alien Parasite. "**I'M FEAR INCARNATED, WORTHLESS MORTAL. DO YOU THINK YOU CAN OPPOSS ME?!**" 'Karasuba' raised her ring, a sick smile in her face as it shined a sickly yellow. "**Now, let's see what it's that YOU fear, Asama Miya.**"

A golden light consumed the first Sekirei's form.

The terrified scream of the most powerful of their species echoed inside the hearts of all the Sekirei of the city.

* * *

Hiroto Minaka sighed, alone in his office. He vaguely realized that he was doing that a lot recently.

After he… 'over-drank a little' yesterday, he woke up hours later with a horrible headache, to see a crying and happy Mamoru talking with his mother by phone, telling her that he was okay and that everyone in the city had been saved.

By the Emerald Blade. From a giant meteor created by what used to be their satellites, launched by Karasuba. Which he stopped by creating a giant-robot of green-light, a super-shield, and then launching it all back to space with his rocket-arm.

He had been tempted to see if they had some strong drug in the infirmary before an angry Takami had entered and started berating him for his idiocy to get drunk during a crisis and some other similar things.

He had ended up hypnotizing her and Mamoru just so she would stop shouting. Hi head was killing him.

A little part of the Magus mind thought how low he have to had fallen to use Magecraft for those petty things, but really, after the shit of yesterday he was pretty sure that a simple 'accident' wasn't going to be enough for the Association to wipe them out. And that the Church would probably get involved too.

Minaka was trying to see the pros and cons of simply blowing the city off the map with the Jinkis or if to wait until they sent someone like the Queen and Solomon to see if he could wipe them out with him too, for spite, when his eyes stopped upon a new headline in the news website he was seeing.

'Mysterious clash of Red and Blue in London! Are we being invaded?!'

_The strange lights were seen by a lot of bystanders during…_

_Witnesses talk about a young woman wearing red tights and drooling blood…_

_A blond woman in armor walking upon the water…!_

"…woah, I never thought I would live to see the day when technology finally kicked Magecraft in the balls." monologued the grey-haired CEO while looking at all the photos of the strange lights upon the city, and a blurred one of a blonde woman jumping in the water as if it was solid ground. "… I wonder, is this going to make them come to kill us faster or it is going to delay them?"

Just then, seemingly random explosions started to went off somewhere in the city. Minaka stamped his face in his hands while feeling the urge to just jump out of his window

"Minaka, sir! Its Karasuba, she's back!" cried Mamoru while entering the room, the secretary almost out of breath. "Should we send someone?!"

"Just… send the agents to evacuate all the people in the area, ok?" growled the CEO while rubbing his temples. "Let the fucking super-idiots with magic rings take care of this."

"Ehm…ok, sir." the ex-technician started to turn before something else passed for his mind. "Ah, yeah, and Izumi Higa is demanding to know under what authority are we retaining him here, and A LOT of different authorities are demanding that we hand him over to be processed."

"Let Takami handle that." answered Minaka, taking an aspirin pot from his desk and swallowing two of the pills without water. "I'm sure that she still has some 'interrogation' to do with him about kidnapping Yukari."

While his sweat-dropping secretary exited his office and a part of his brain was telling the Magus how his city was turning into a bad American comic, Minaka couldn't help but see the little positive side of things.

The dungeon-like prison under the building was finally being used to hold someone!

* * *

When the chaos had begun, Musubi had just been able to jump out of the way thanks to the Predator's warning, and she was glad to see that Tsukiumi had escaped unharmed too.

Then, she had seen Karasuba threatening Miya and Chiho with her sword.

"Dammit, Miya, Chiho!" shouted Tsukiumi, clenching her fists at her side, the fear evident in her lovely features. "What do we do?!"

"Something is wrong…" muttered the Love Sekirei while looking at how Miya put out a quick move and managed to get Chiho out of the way and punch the Sinestro Corps member. "Karasuba-sama is not being herself!"

"What, a psychotic lunatic?! I think she's being perfectly normal!" anything that Tsukiumi was going to add was interrupted by the sight of the Sekirei Number 001 flying through the air like a ragdoll. "MIYA! Damn… Musubi, quick, we have to take Chiho out of here!"

"Why can't Tsukiumi see it…?" murmured the Sekirei in the Miko outfit, looking conflicted in the direction where Karasuba had gone flying. "It's like… something is drowning her…"

The sudden scream that started a couple of seconds later made her body cringe.

**_Parallax has gone out of control, my child. He's totally infected the mind of his Avatar, like the parasite he is. We have to stop him, or those that you love will be harmed!_**

"He shouldn't be messing with Karasuba-sama's mind! She already has a lot of problems to see the wonders of Love without that!" growled a strangely angry Musubi while her Power Battery appeared in her hands, ring pointed towards it._"For Hearts long lost, and full of Fright!"_

The possessed woman's head snapped up, away from the screaming Miya, and her powers fixed her eyes in in the figure of Musubi.

"**Oh, no, you won't!**" she roared before launching herself like a bullet towards the Love Sekirei. "**I will just rip your head off before you can recharge your damned…!**"

"Water Dragon!" the sudden cry was all the warning that Golden Shōkyaku had before a wave of dragon-shaped water slammed furiously against her, the unexpected move making her body stumble and her gaze to fix in the trembling form of Tsukiumi, who was shielding the still scared Chiho with her body.

The raise of a hand was all that the Sinestro Corpswoman needed to make an insect-like yellow claw to close around the blonde's neck and start choking her.

"Tsukiumi-san!" cried the young Ashikabi while uselessly trying to pry the claw open.

"Did you really think that you could harm me, trash?" smirked the possessed Sekirei.

"No…" whispered Tsukiumi with a strained voice, a smirk in her face in spite of the quickly reducing quantity of oxygen in her lungs. "But I thought… that I could distract you long enough…"

"**What…?**" Golden Shōkyaku's eyes widened, realization hitting her.

Too late.

_"…With Violet Light!"_ roared Musubi while appearing out of nowhere, her Star Sapphire 'uniform' covering her just as her crystal-encased fist slammed against Karasuba's face, releasing Tsukiumi and making the possessed woman fly through the air like a bullet, brutally going through a couple of buildings. "Tsukiumi, Chiho-chan, are you okay?!"

"Took you… long enough…" gasped the Water Sekirei while Chiho helped her stand up.

"I'm okay, but I think you should see if Miya… Musubi-san, watch out!" Chiho's warning arrived just in time for Musubi to turn around and create a heart-shaped crystal shield, barely stopping the furious slash of her enemy's Zanbato-like blade.

"**Stupid…!**" a flow of demonic-crows of yellow light flew around her, all of them slamming against the Love Warrior like missiles and making her crash against the street. "**Useless…!**" a pair of giant insect claws formed out of her wings, grabbing Musubi before she could stand up again and starting to crush her. "**…and pathetic being of Love!**"

"Don't… insult… Love!" roared the Sekirei, flying up with all her might, freeing herself with her brutal strength and her suddenly spike-filled gauntlets, breaking the claws in pieces. "Let Karasuba-sama go, NOW!" she shouted while shooting a punch-beam in her direction.

The possessed woman simply smirked and cut the beam in two, her sword extending and slamming against the surprised Star Sapphire, surpassing her Power Aura and managing to slash her in the side.

"Ugh!" Musubi bit back a scream as her erratic aura tried to compensate, quickly letting a 'patch' of violet crystal to cover her wound. "How…?"

"**Yesterday, that would have hurt this body, you know? But after absorbing all that Fear, and coupled with the fact that you don't have enough brain to properly use all that chaotic energy inside you…**" Golden Shōkyaku vanished, and the startled Love Sekirei barely had time to raise her arms to protect herself before a rain of slashes rained upon her with brutal strength, cracking her gauntlets. "**Now, you're no threat to her. To me. To US.**" the crows screamed to life once again, impacting Musubi from behind and making the last slash destroy her gauntlets, throwing her through the air. The girl tried to launch violet light once again, but it was simply evaded with uncaring easiness. "**You cannot defeat me.**" declared the possessed Avatar, raising her blade once again…

Only for a barrage of emerald weapons to appear around her from all directions, making her eyes widen with shock.

"Maybe she can't. But, what about me?" questioned a steel-like voice, making both Sekirei turn around.

The Emerald Blade was there, standing silently in the air, the visor of his helmet fixed in Karasuba's form, a slightly trembling Miya in his arms.

"**You…**" the mask in the woman's eyes distorted for a moment, turning into an insect-like visage at her predatory smile. "**I was wondering when would you come, Avatar of Ion.**"

Shirou seemed to ignore her, instead concentrating in seeing if Musubi was too badly injured, his Will-Powered Structural Analysis allowing him to do it with just one look. After that, he turned his gaze towards the woman in his arms, one of the strongest beings he had known in his life.

"Fo-forgive me, Takehito… please…" muttered Miya with unfocused eyes, tears running freely from them.

_"She's in shock, Shirou. Whatever she saw, it was too much for her. Even the strongest beings have things that can terrorize them like this…. And the Yellow Light can take those fears and multiply them to horrifying levels." _explained the ring while the Green Lantern silently let an emerald aura envelop the Sekirei, bringing her down to the ground where Kazehana was ready to grab her. Uzume could be seen not so far from there, making sure that her Ashikabi and Tsukiumi were okay.

Homura could also be seen just a couple of streets from there, shouting to everyone in sight to get the hell out of there as fast as they could, fire burning in her hands to make her point.

"Kazehana, Uzume, please get them out of here." the symbol of Will shined in Shirou's eyes as he clenched his fists, his Power Aura roaring around him. "I will handle this."

Kazehana seemed about to protest, but one look at the trembling form of the ex-leader of the first Disciplinary Squad make her close her mouth and grimly nod to her Ashikabi. Uzume was already wrapping Chiho with her cloth and helping the still a little gasping Tsukiumi to steady herself, but she still looked once in the Magus' direction.

"Take care, Shirou." she simply muttered before jumping away with the rest of them.

"**Oh? 'I will handle this?' Big words, human, but…**" an exploding wave of yellow light swept around Golden Shōkyaku, making the Traced weapons go flying in different directions. "**Do you really think you can handle ME?**"

"Shi-Shirou-sama!" cried Musubi, apparently not remembering or not caring about saying his name aloud in this situation. "It's not Karasuba-sama, there is someone inside her head making her do this!"

The Magus didn't need the Love Sekirei to tell him that. He could clearly feel that there was something WRONG with Karasuba, a strange and sinister scent drowning her usual smell of ash, blood and honey.

The scent, for some reason, reminded him of dark places, sinister but undefined beings, eyes in the shadows, and burning corpses…

Shirou realized with a frown that what his sixth sense perceived was _Fear_.

He didn't realized how Musubi had suddenly fallen silent, a strange and sleepy look in her face as her eyes closed.

_"The Spectrum levels in her body are abnormal, and the Yellow Energy she's emitting is…too strong." _the ring's words seemed to comewith a slight tremble_. "Shirou, I think that… she's being possessed by Parallax."_

"The Entity of Fear?" neutrally asked the Green Lantern, not taking his eyes off of the woman for a second, remembering part of what the ring told them when he regained his memories. "Are you sure?"

_"I can't affirm it, because if it was true then her energy levels should be even higher, but the… 'Purity' in the energy her body is emitting can't come just from her or her ring."_ also, even if Musubi had insisted that there was a giant insect identifying itself as the Predator living in her head, the ring's scan had proved that her abnormally high Emotional Levels came from herself, and hadn't detected the supposed presence of the Entity.

That aside, it was impossible that the bubbly Sekirei knew about the existence of the Entity of Love, so…

"**DIE!**" roared the possessed woman while practically teleporting herself in front of the Emiya, her blade already half-way to cut one of his arms-off.

"Trace, on"

A grunt of frustration came out of Karasuba's mouth as her blade couldn't bisect the arm even after cutting through the Power Aura. The Sinestro Corps member had to get away to evade a spear that almost impaled her.

"**Grr, you Green Lanterns never know when to give up, do you?!**" she roared while the insect-like claws once again formed around her.

'Yeah, definitively not Karasuba. She would have enjoyed the fact that the battle wouldn't turn out to be easy.'

_'That doesn't matter. She's out of control and a severe threat to humanity. We have to stop her… at all costs.'_ the Ashura turned deadly serious. _"Before *Humanity* decides to do it herself.'_

'…Counter Guardians.' the Hero seemed to tremble upon saying the words that brought a lot of unpleasant memories to the mind of Emiya Shirou. '…damn. But we have to try to…!'

_'Do you know how to free someone from a sinisterly evil alien being that is supposedly the Incarnation of all the Fear in the universe.' _the Ashura seemed slightly pleased at the angry look in the little boy's face. _'Thought so.'_

"I will only say it once." Kanshou and Byakuya appeared in the Magus hands while the spear dispersed, the twin swords shining with emerald power. "Give up."

"**Oh, I get it. Do you think yourself some kind of hero, right? Well… SHOW ME WHAT YOU HAVE, HERO!**" roared the possessed woman before suddenly 'tripling' the two clones of light flying in different directions and shooting energy-slashes, Shirou's eyes widening at seeing them specifically targeting residential areas.

"NO!" he cried before trying to stop the copies, only for the original to appear before him and slash brutally with her sword and claws, passing through his hastily put defense and making him go back.

"Heh, you understand now, Green Lantern? How pathetic you are, human?!" she roared as her insect-limbs keep raining a storm of attacks upon the married swords, Shirou being barely able to keep any of the slashes from getting through.

Much less stop the light-clones.

One of them rained destruction in the middle of a street, people running madly as some of them were hurt by the falling debris.

The other cut a building in two.

Shirou's heart fell; countless of terrified screams resounding as the structure started to collapse, upon itself. A couple of kids, a boy and a girl, were frozen in fear as a giant piece of debris fell upon them.

All that people were going to…

Giant violet crystals grew up around the collapsing building, inside and outside, encasing the broken and collapsing parts, stopping its fall in an impossible angle.

The two kids blinked, looking amazed how a flying woman in a reveling outfit has appeared out of nowhere and stopped the piece of debris with a fist, crystallizing and making it float.

Shirou and the possessed Karasuba didn't even had time to blink before someone teleported in front of one of the stunned clones and broke it in countless fragments with a brutal punch, doing the same with the other a second later, this time by smashing its face with a brutal kick.

Finally, Musubi appeared a couple of meters from the two, an unusually serious look in the Star Sapphire's face, a determination in her eyes that the Magus had never seen.

"Stop this madness now, Karasuba." _ordered_ the Sekirei, her voice filled of a strength and authority totally alien to her.

"Mu…subi?" asked a confused Shirou, taking advantage of Karasuba's distraction to distance herself from her.

_"Warning, brain patterns of the user have changed…"_expressed Musubi's ring_. "No external influence or possession detected, the change comes from the inside. Pseudo-new user acknowledged. Welcome to the Star Sapphires, Yume of the Earth."_

The eyes of both of the other ring-bearers widened, Shirou's mouth opening in incredulity.

_"Did he just say 'Yume'? Who's that?"_ questioned the Ashikabi's ring, confused.

"Yu…me…?" the Magus' head snapped back to his opponent, whose body had gone unnaturally still, her voice having turned more… normal."Yume? Yume… **YUMEEEE!**" suddenly roared the possessed woman, launching herself past him and slashing repeatedly with her katana against the Love Sekirei.

The Star Sapphire didn't even flinch, her gauntlets reinforcing themselves and changing into a much smoother form, her punches countering each of the slashes with brutal strength and surgical precision, as if she had become a completely different person.

**_What's this…? It looks like anger, but it's not. You're camouflaging it… This is Fear. What is it, Karasuba? Where does this fear come from? Show me… show it to me…_**

Shirou snapped himself out of the trance in which he had entered upon seeing the two Sekirei engaging in a Servant-level fight, or maybe above.

"Ring, scan Musubi, what can you tell me?" he quickly asked.

_"…What the?! He brain patterns are all different! People brain-waves doesn't change just like that, is like she turned into a completely different person!"_

"Yume…" muttered the young man while looking towards the strangely equaled battle.

He dismissed his favored twin blades and brought Durandal out, the skill of the legendary blade filling him.

He was probably going to need it.

* * *

"This is… dammit, this is bad. Really bad." muttered a worried Matsu, sweat covering her forehead.

Behind her, Akitsu and Kusano where watching with interest how she was controlling all of her computers at the same time, little bolts of green electricity coursing from her hands. Most of the screens where showing camera feeds of the city, but a couple of them were showing tons of numbers assembled in incomprehensible codes.

"Ah. What's wrong, Matsu?"

"Can't you see, it Akitsu?! Look at all those formulas! Look at this data!" she cried while signaling to the numerical gibberish. "The energy that they're displaying out there is getting too dangerous, too high and…!" Matsu blinked. "And you have no idea what I'm talking about, right?

Akitsu simply shook his head.

"Kuu doesn't." helpfully added the little girl, a preoccupied look on her face.

"Ugh. Sorry girls, it's just that…" she looked at the screens. "I have all of this, going through my head, things that I have never known about in my life, but I suddenly can understand as easy as someone can breathe!" Matsu sat, putting her face in her hands. "I don't know what's happening, and summed with the frustration of knowing I can't do anything to help our Ashikabi…"

The Wisdom Sekirei's eyes widened when she felt a tiny hand putting itself in her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Matsu-nee. As long as we believe in Onii-chan, he's going to be alright." smiled Kusano at her 'older sister'. "After all, he's the brave shark-whale!"

"Ah. I believe in Ashikabi-sama too." added Akitsu, showing her confidence in the red-head even if she wasn't at his side to help him right now.

Matsu looked at her fellow Sekirei and a smile blossomed in her face. They were right, she had no time to be worrying with gloomy thoughts of how or why she got this powers.

Her Ashikabi and sisters needed help. It was time to see if these abilities were of any use to them.

She let her hands glow green again, a determined look on her face while she connected her mind with the machines in the city.

She won't just sit back doing nothing anymore.

* * *

"UWAAHH!"

BAM!

"Is this all, Karasuba? Snap out of it, I know you're stronger than whatever is making this!"

CRASH!

Golden Shōkyaku's body slammed against the earth once again, a burning need for destruction in her eyes.

"I WILL KILL YOU, YUME!" roared the fear-possessed woman before launching a barrage of golden flames from her blade, wide enough to engulf a three story building.

"No, you won't. Not while I have Love by my side." answered the Star Sapphire, punching at her sides and letting violet light take the form of two giant crystal-hammers, slamming both of them together and putting out the fire.

She didn't have time to evade the suddenly extending insect claws, though.

"Agh!" growled 'Yume', her hands shooting to her neck to try to crush the claws.

Two more came out of nowhere, grabbing her arms and making her eyes widen.

"NOT SO TOUGH NOW, UH?!" laughed the maddened woman, the now four claws that sprouted from her wings giving her the appearance of some sort of disturbing bird-spider.

"Cut through the darkness, Durandal."

The Sinestro Corps member cried in shock when an emerald blur appeared out of nowhere and cut all her claws in one smooth swing, with enough force to send her back from the mental backslash.

The Star Sapphire blinked, her ragging-breathing form now finding herself just behind of the heroic figure of the Emerald Blade, the legendary sword of Roland shining in his hand. He turned his helmet-covered face to look at her, making a little blush come to her cheeks.

"Yume, right?" before she had any chance to say anything, the Green Lantern had turned his gaze back at their foe. "I won't ask about the details now, we can always go about them later. Just answer me one thing." his grab upon the holy blade seemed to tighten. "Is Musubi okay?"

"Yes." answered the woman without hesitation, putting a hand over her chest. "I would never allow anything to harm her."

"Good." smiled Shirou under his helmet, feeling the deep sincerity and caring in the Sekirei words. "Can I count on you to watch my back while we try to stop her?"

"Of course, my Ashikabi." nodded Yume with a little smile, letting her gauntlets grow spikes once again.

"If you two are done with your useless talk…" a giant flash of yellow light made both light-warriors turn around, their eyes widening upon seeing Karasuba inside a crow-construct as big as a sixteen-wheel truck. "THEN PREPARE TO DIE!"

The giant crow roared, two of his three eyes focusing in his enemies before lashing at them with his claws.

"Dammit!" growled Shirou, evading the fake-creature blows; deceptively fast despite its size. The Magus quickly retreated and created a wall construct to evade the next attack and slash back, but the damage done at the yellow bird quickly disappeared.

_"Whatever was possessing her before seems to be… gone. Now it's more like the excessive amounts of Yellow Light inside of her had made her mind and emotions to run out of control." _informed the ring while Yume launched a lance-shaped crystal at the crow, which just crushed it with his teeth-filled beak._ "I don't really know if that is a good or a bad thing."_

"Let's concentrate in stopping her first!" shouted Shirou before barely evading another attack from the giant claws. If he could just found again whatever had given him that 'power up' last time and use it again, he was certain he could bring down the crazy Sekirei. But it didn't seem that Ion would be able to talk with him anytime soon, so he would have to rely in…

In that moment, the crow suddenly opened his wings widely. All the feathers in them shoot out like missiles, flying against the Green Lantern and the Star Sapphire with brutal speed.

"Watch out!" shouted Yume while flying backwards.

"You have to be kidding me…!" was the Magus exclamation as he Will-Traced a barrage of weapons around himself, shooting against the incoming feathers and slashing with Durandal at any that went past his sword rain. He turned his gaze to the side, ready to help Yume, but he was surprised at seeing the woman quickly creating multiple star-shaped shields of crystal in front of herself, some of them angled to specifically reflect some of the feathers instead of trying to block them. Not only the woman was experienced with battle, but she also seemed to be adapting to the powers of the ring pretty fast.

_"Shirou, if you have some more destructive tricks with this Magecraft of yours, now would be a great moment to use them!" _panicked the Power Ring while even more feather-missiles came their way, making Shirou grimace and let Durandal float at his side.

He brought up a hand and an emerald-shining bow appeared in it, he grabbed Durandal and started to take aim… but his eyes widened and he quickly had to let go, quickly backpedaling out of the way of some of the feathers, that seemed to have augmented their speed the moment he was distracted, as if they could actually see him. Karasuba wasn't going to let him time to aim with his bow.

"Damn!" cursed the Magus, once again trying to repel the brutal and seemingly endless barrage of attacks. It reminded him of the Gate of Babylon in some sort of twisted way, only without the variety of the King of Heroes' Noble Phantasm.

_"You were trying to shoot a sword at her with a bow?!_" it seemed that the ring wasn't amused at his failed attack, if his angry pre-adolescent voice was anything to go by. _"Of course, that will be so much better than just shooting them with magic! Why don't you try use a cannon or something like that instead?!"_

The sarcasm-filled words make Shirou blink, a random idea popping in his head. It was crazy, it was dangerous, and probably very stupid, Rin-high standards stupid at least.

He was fighting a giant yellow crow while flying and being helped by the ghost of a dead alien possessing the body of another one, who was part of his 'harem'. He didn't really think it could turn out crazier than that.

The Emerald Blade concentrated and made Durandal float just in front of one of his arms, his fingers closing around a still-forming handle.

In front of the stunned 'eyes' of the ring, a shotgun of green light formed around the legendary sword. Well, at least it somewhat looked like a shotgun. It was obviously too big and too long, and it was obvious that the creator hadn't really put much though in any details.

The conduit of Will didn't even had time to voice the stupidity that Shirou was apparently doing before the sword's form changed, becoming more aerodynamic, like an arrow, and feeling how the firearm-construct quickly adjusted at its new size. But that wasn't what made the ring fell in stunned silent, no.

It was how Shirou was quickly pouring Will-Prana into the sword-arrow, overloading its internal integrity without care. It became unstable, it became dangerous…

It became Broken.

Even if for the ring seemed longer, all of that happened in barely a couple of seconds.

"Durandal." simply said Shirou before firing, the backlash making him fly backwards and the construct to shatter, his mind receiving the impact of having underestimated the Will needed to hold the shoot.

But it was done. The Broken Phantasm soared through the air with brutal force, at speeds that it would have never achieved being launched by a bow. It was an exchange of almost all the accuracy for raw force and power.

Against something as big as a house, accuracy didn't really matter.

Karasuba's eyes widened, noticing too late that the attack was actually dangerous.

It collided with her construct.

The following explosions made Shirou and Yume fly through the air out of control, blowing all the windows of the buildings in at least a kilometer around.

When the Green Lantern's head stopped spinning and he could fly straight again, he was able to see a shocked Star Sapphire floating before him.

"Did you just… shot a sword from a shotgun like it was a missile?" she asked, incredulity filling her voice as she looked at where Karasuba seemed to have fallen after the blast.

"Ehm… more or less." answered the Magus while looking at his destroyed gauntlet. "But I don't think I would try to do it again anytime soon. That was more dangerous than what I though…"

'THAT. WAS. AMAZING!' shouted the little Hero while jumping up and down.

_'You… used a shotgun of solid green light to fire a Broken Phantasm…'_ the Ashura grabbed his head with a growl. _'I think I have a headache…'_

'Uh? It's even possible for us to have headaches?'

Shirou pointedly ignored both of them while he and Yume floated over the smoldering ruins of a house, his ring informing that its inhabitants seemed to have evacuated it sometime before, much to his relief.

Karasuba was just laying there, her Power Aura gone and most of her uniform scorched or directly having disappeared. She wasn't moving.

_"She's still alive."_ informed the Magus' Power Ring, making Yume release a sigh of relief.

"It looks like we did it." She said, smiling once again at Shirou. "Now, I think I owe you and expla…"

_"Warning, detecting Spectrum Levels out of control!" _suddenly shouted both rings, making the surprised Sekirei and Ashikabi look back at the unmoving Sinestro Corps member.

Her eyes opened.

And the Fear came.

* * *

It was a confusing and chaotic place, the mind of a living being.

**_C'mon. Let me see…_**

Especially the mind of someone like the Sekirei Number 004.

**_Yes, that number. It brings me closer? Show it to me._**

Five. They were five at the beginning. No restrictions were put on them at their awakening. Four warriors and one tactical would protect their sleeping brothers and sisters.

She was the fourth. She was born to fight against the greed of humanity, against those who wanted to take away their species for their own benefit.

She found that, strangely, she didn't care about that.

**_Yes. You were born as a warrior, as a weapon. Someone who would crush her enemies and made them fear your sole mentioning. It was really so strange, I wonder, that you turned out like you are?_**

No matter how many of they came, how strong or big they believed their weapons. With her blade in her hand, she slashed them all away. She found herself excited. She liked this, this feeling of destruction. Battle, that was her motivation. To fight, not to protect. That was her purpose.

She was different from the other four.

**_The other four, yes. It's from there? From where your Fear came? Show me…_**

The Number 001. The strongest, their leader. Where she believed herself an ultimate warrior, their leader was an unstoppable force of nature. She saw her slash one of the biggest humans war-machines with just a simple slash of her blade.

It awed her, to see that power. It made her respect her…

**_But she disappointed you, right? The only being that you believed superior to you, the only one that inspired you some respect… and she threw it all away. For a human, for a feeling that you, a being of battle and blood, couldn't understand. For Love, she abandoned you all. So you decided to hate her…_**

She didn't understand. Why?! The humans, they were inferior, they were useless! They only wanted to use their power and technology for their own benefit. Why did she say that they were important?! Why did she say that something as stupid and senseless as an emotion would make them more powerful?!

But then, _she_ came. Yume.

**_Yes. Someone that you could respect, once again. Someone that, in her way, understood you. You didn't care that she also talked all the time about that emotion that you didn't understand, because for you, her presence was enough. She was someone you could call your equal, someone that, maybe… you could call a 'friend'._**

But then, it happened. The humans took away one of them. She and Yume went, to bring her back, destroying all who came in their way.

They were late. She was going to die. Yume took a decision.

Even as she sacrificed herself to save the other, weaker, Sekirei, to give her an opportunity at happiness, she kept talking about the Love…

**_Once again, you didn't understand it. Why? Why had she done that? Why throw away her life for someone much more insignificant? What was that Love that she believed in? You couldn't understand it. You didn't want to understand it._**

She observed the girl that Yume saved. She was weak. Not only weak when compared to her, but weaker than a lot of other Sekirei, too. She also seemed to never stop talking about that emotion. That Love. The girl respected her, her strange and weird attitude even amusing her. Musubi. Mu-chan. She made her make a promise. In the end, only they would remain. And they would fight. To see who was right, if her and her power… or Musubi and her Love. She knew that it would be practically impossible for the girl to do it, but a part of her wanted to see, see if that Love was truly able to accomplish something…

See if Yume's sacrifice hadn't been pointless.

**_Ah. Now I see. That's what you fear. Defeat. You love battle, but you fear defeat, because being defeated would mean that you were wrong since the beginning, that all in which you believed was for nothing. And then, you won't have anything else. You try to mask it with hate, indifference, superiority… but in the end, that's what you fear. The only thing that you could never understand. In a twisted sense…_**

Something stirred, deep into the woman's consciousness.

**_…you fear Love._**

"I…no…me…"

**_Shh, don't worry, Karasuba. I'm here, with you. It's okay, you don't have to deny it. Embrace the Fear! Turn it into your power instead of what rules you! Just do it and you will never feel it again. You will be right. And all of them will be wrong. They will be crushed… and you will know that it was silly to be scared of something that it's powerless against your power. Our Power._**

"Yes. I… I want that…"

**_Of course you want it, my dear. Just say the words. You know them. You know what to do. Now that we are connected like this, I finally have enough power. All that I need…_**

Karasuba's eyes opened, fixing for a moment in the floating figures of Shirou and Musu…no, Yume.

**_…is a little push._**

She opened her mouth.

"Come out, Parallax."

**_…AS YOU WISH, MY DEAR!_**

A titanic pillar of yellow light shot to the sky, the force behind it being enough to launch both the Green Lantern and the Star Sapphire back, their bodies slamming against a lonely street.

Immediately, all the humans in the city fell to their knees, screaming; their greatest fears passing before their eyes, their worst nightmares assaulting their minds.

The Sekirei trembled, most of the weaker ones suffering the same fate as their Ashikabis, only some of the strongest or more willed ones not falling directly, but feeling as if there was something horrible pounding at their brains, their bodies and minds being filled with an unnatural terror.

All around Japan, the people suddenly found themselves looking around and at their backs, a senseless terror covering their beings as if someone was watching them.

In the entire world, all the humans (Young and old, men or women, Magus or not) suddenly found a strange creeping feeling slowly covering them, all the things around them suddenly seeming more ominous than before.

All the supernatural beings in the world turned their heads towards Japan. They could feel it, too. Something, something horrible…

And the most terrifying thing was that, even to the most powerful ones, even to the ones who supposedly couldn't feel anything remotely human…

It was slowly starting to scare them.

Alaya started to scream.

**_"I'M FREE!"_** roared an inhuman voice upon Shin Tokyo's sky, the pillar of light starting to shrunk and take a titanic and monstrous form. **_"SCREAM FOR ME, HUMANITY! SCREAM FOR ME, EARTH!"_**

Shirou got to his feet, ignoring the broken parts of his armor, and found himself unable to look away.

Wicked claws bigger than houses. A titanic and insect-looking jaw, big enough to devour half of a skyscraper with one bite. A long and alien body, seeming bigger than the sky to the Magus. Two enormous and soulless golden eyes, looking at everything as a human would look at an ant.

"My god…"

_"By the Guardians…"_

Shirou's mind didn't register Yume's or his ring's words. It was still fixed in the terrifying and humongous parasite, his alien-looking yellow body finally forming itself completely, towering easily over a quarter of the city.

**_"I'M PARALLAX! I'M TERROR, I'M FEAR! I'M YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!"_** roared the Emotional Entity, the screams of mankind filling him with glee.

Gaia started to scream too.

**_"Can you feel it, Karasuba? Their screams? Their FEAR?"_** questioned the Incarnation of the Yellow Light, making the Green Lantern realize something.

There was something…no, someone standing in its head.

A barely human body, covered in insect-looking-armor, four deformed insect wings coming from her back, a giant sword-like claw instead of her right arm.

And a monstrous-looking helmet, modeled after Parallax head, through which two void yellow eyes gazed at the world.

"Yes." answered the thing in what Karasuba had turned. "I can hear it." she 'smiled', a hollow smile devoid of any warmness. "It feels great."

**_"Excellent."_** Parallax smiled back.

All the while, the consciousness of the planet keep on screaming, their voices unheard by any being in the Earth.

Except for the one that was making them scream.

* * *

There wasn't any time left.

He had been here, standing, watching without doing anything, all his efforts centered in just one thing. Stopping the ring.

His light was already scarce in his home universe, but it seemed that it was even more so in this other world. And from the barely existing possible candidates, the ring had chosen the obvious one.

The one who had the most potential, the one whose power was the closest to their _origin_.

He wouldn't allow it. She wasn't ready for that. It would be UNFAIR.

But now, there wasn't time. Parallax had gone out of control, the unnatural Fear that filled this full of secrets and shadows Earth having helped his chaotic and confused mind. If he didn't interfere, the entire planet would be consumed by Fear… or Ion's Avatar would be forced to kill Parallax's one in order to stop him.

He couldn't allow that. They needed the seven to be together if they wanted to have any chance against what was coming.

Adara and the Butcher wouldn't arrive in time, their Avatars having become a little 'lost' upon exiting the planet, and Ophidian had seemingly vanished in the shadows that plagued this world, out of his sight.

He had to do something. She wasn't ready. The destiny of this universe was at stake.

He was the only one who could make Parallax stop if he was defeated. After all, out of the seven, he was the only one who knew the truth.

That they weren't the real ones. That they were just broken echoes…

He didn't have another option. For the sake of everyone… he would have to do something horrible.

He let go.

In the darkness of space, a circle with two opposed arrows coming out of it flared to life, its color not quite blue, not quite violet. But in the middle of the two.

An Indigo Light.

_"Emotional Discharge detected. Analyzing… suitable bearer found. Initializing recruitment process."_

And so, the sixth star of light flew towards the Earth. There was no more time.

Now, only Compassion would be able to save them…

* * *

******Chap**ter End.

* * *

Woah, I just wrote all of that and I myself can't believe it. I'm crazy? Maybe? Well, all I can say is, as the title said, shit just got real, everyone. All is going to go batshit crazy in the next chapter! Only 2 more chapters until the season's end, yeah!

I hope that everyone enjoyed reading; I have nothing more to say (Troll). Have a good day; this is Saint, signing off!


	13. Chapter 12: Emotional Entity

Hi everyone, welcome back again to the Emerald Blade, the fanfic that proves that even the craziest ideas or those that you aren't sure of writing because you think are too stupid CAN be liked!

Seriously, when the idea for this first popped up in my head after re-reading The Blackest Night, I first laughed it off as a bad joke of my brain. But as time went on and I found myself imagining more and more details and adding more and more twists, development and plot devices… well, I just HAD to write something. When I posted the prologue in The Mechanics of In Flight forum, I thought that was going to be all.

Now, we're practically at the end of the first season, and this story has more than 30000 views, more than 170 reviews and is more than 90000 words long. Thanks again to everyone who read this, you all are the motivation that allows me to keep writing these crazy ideas here, and I hope you keep enjoying them until the end. After all, if you enjoy reading it at least a part of what I enjoy writing it, then for me is more than worth it OwO.

Well, enough of that now! The Nasuverse is in danger of probably the worst thing to ever happen in its entire history! Parallax is free! How will the powers of the world react?! What will our favorite Green Lantern do?! What will happen?!

You will have to read to find out!

* * *

**Chapter 12: Emotional Entity! Descend, Light of Compassion!** or _"Has someone noticed that all Superheroes have to face giant monsters at least once in their lives?"_

Have you ever felt true _Fear_?

Ever felt such terror that you could barely move, think or even breath?

Maybe when you were a child, when you were alone in a dark place or when you couldn't help but feel that there was someone watching you…?

That was what Emiya Shirou felt, for a moment, while gazing at the towering being over him, the monstrously glorious visage of the Entity of Fear, Incarnation of the Yellow Light of the Emotional Spectrum, the terror of the whole Multiverse given form.

Parallax. One of the seven Emotional Entities.

A being whose existence surpassed even that of the planet itself.

A being whose power was one of the seven that illuminated the entire Multiverse…

Then, he heard the screams and shouts of pain/fear/terror that were coming from the entire city and his mind finally snapped out of his daze.

"Ring, balance all the Will-Reinforcement evenly! Yume, stay back!" the Emiya didn't even wait for the Sekirei to complain about his order before shooting into the air, his armor-parts reconstructing themselves as he flew until standing in front of the titanic yellow parasite.

Forget stopping the meteor, THIS was without a doubt the most stupid thing that he had ever done in his life.

_"Shirou, what…?"_

"STOP RIGHT NOW!" Parallax humongous eyes didn't have pupils, but if they had they would have fixe upon the tiny form of the Emerald Blade, his ring pointed directly at his face. "As the Green Lantern of this Space Sector, I order you to stop whatever the hell you are doing and to get out of my planet, now!"

There was a moment of silence before the laugh of the Emotional Entity echoed through the screaming city like a minor earthquake, his eyes closing in humorless mirth.

**_"HAHAHAH…!" _**the Incarnation of Fear finally stopped laughing and reopened his eyes, looking once again at the flying Magus. **_"Did you honestly believe that saying that was going to hel…?"_** the parasite froze, his eyes opening fully.

"No, I didn't. Life taught me that long ago." answered Shirou, two green machinegun-constructs as big as trucks gripped in his hands, charged to the brink with Noble Phantasms instead of bullets. "It also taught me that making your enemies underestimate you is pretty useful."

A rain of legendary weapons screamed through the air, impacting repeatedly againts Parallax face as the Emerald Blade started to fly back from the recoil.

The ultimate battle of Fear and Will had begun.

* * *

Chaos. That was a word that could perfectly describe the state of the planet right not.

Spreading from Japan through the entire Earth and slowly turning stronger every second that passed, a wave of mindless terror was covering everything.

It was certainly weaker the furthest one was from Shin Tokyo, of course. But it was only a matter of time.

Every moment that passed, people who were just experimented a minor disturbance suddenly found themselves looking at their backs, fearing something that wasn't there.

Every moment that passed, more found themselves affected the strongest beings of the planet, confused, unable to comprehend what was happening.

They were scared. And that was impossible. Much of them shouldn't even be able to FEEL anything!

**How could they be scared?!**

In one of the deepest parts of the Vatican, someone raised his head, his eyes narrowing as he bit his lips. In appearance it was just a boy with white clothes, dark hair, nothing special, and that was missing an arm.

In truth, it was Merem Solomon, one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, also known as Crown, one of the highest representatives of the church.

Suddenly, a white rat with a strange crown came running towards him from the shadows, before turning into an old man in priestly clothes, panting slightly.

"All my brothers and sisters are feeling the… phenomenon, my lord." panted the King of Rats at his summoner, looking strangely disturbed. "They are scared, very scared. Whatever it is, it's expanding, and quickly."

"…you are scared too, right?" asked Merem at the being that was his left arm.

"I… yes, my lord. I'm scared. And it's getting worse each second…" answered the old priest with a shudder.

"That's not the worst part, my friend." answered the DAA while starting to walk away, his others limbs trembling slightly. "All of them are scared." while the Kind of Rats froze at that revelation, the child-like vampire just bit his lips harder. "And I'm too."

Even worse, but, was that he didn't even know why.

In the still chaotic Clocktower, all hell was breaking loose. They still hadn't totally recovered from the mayhem that had occurred yesterday, and it had taken a supreme effort just to stop any authorities from entering the building to examine the damage that the mad destruction caused by Rin Tohsaka (Who had been stamped with a high priority Sealing Designation, her Servant suffering the same fate), and that was not to mention the total chaos that was going through the entire organization.

There was proof of the existence of Magecraft in the hands of the entire world.

They hadn't even had time to recover from the escape of the Japanese Magus and her familiar before the news of what had happened in Japan had hit then with full force and that, when combined with the DISASTER that happened in their faces, leave most of the upper echelons and most important people of the Magus Association without quite knowing what to do.

Who could have known that an event that they couldn't 'silence' before it got to the public would ever occur?

Yeah, sadly for them, most of the Magus had never considered technology as an actual threat, and that mistake had finally slapped them in the face with full force.

Some of the most vindictive (Stupid) members of the Association were already planning how to destroy Twitter and its creators.

And then, while they were still debating on how to react to the greatest threat to their secret existence since their foundation, this horrible 'disturbance' had started.

"We have practically all of our agents being affected. We know that this is happening in ALL the country at the same time. So then, can you tell me HOW is it possible that no one can find what in heaven's name is happening?" asked a calm and composed Barthomeloi Lorelei, the tightening in the hand which wore her holy mithril gauntlet being a clear sign that her strict façade was shattering very quickly.

Something that had never happened to her.

"W-we are not sure, my lady." answered the poor loser that had the hellish luck of bringing the bad news to one of the most dangerous humans in the planet, the fact that he was also being affected by this 'panic phenomenon' not really helping. "The fact that is affecting everyone, even Magus no matter how strong they are, is getting in the nerves of everyone! We're using all our resources, but no Prana or even a magical signature is being detected!"

"Are you saying that we are unable to detect something which has enough power to affect the whole country?" the Queen's eyes narrowed dangerously, the little, almost imperceptible, shaking of her not-gauntlet hand being suppressed by her other one. "I must said, I'm severely disappointed that the Association is filled with such incompetent…!"

"My Queen. I bring notices from the Church." the sudden apparition of one of the members of Lorelei's personal 'Brigade' saved the poor and unimportant Magus from what he thought was going to be his end. "They are asking if we are responsible of whatever is happening, and if we do, that we stop it immediately. They are worried, scared even, because this phenomenon is even affecting Crown."

"Even that bastard of Solomon is being affected…?" muttered the Vice Director, growling when she suppressed another shaking in her hands. When this… 'Phenomenon' had started to affect even her, she had been understandably surprised and incredulous, and had quickly retired to her office, where she had been trying her best to suppress the strange effects that it was imposing upon her.

She was the Queen of the Clocktower, the Vice Director of the Association, the head of the Barthomeloi family, the bane of the Dead Apostles! There was nothing that could scare her!

So then, why? Why and how was whatever this thing was being able to affect her, to made her start to feel truly afraid, to see all the shadows as something dangerous, to feel as if she was a powerless child slowly drowning in an invisible sea?

And if this phenomenon, whatever it was, was capable of affecting even one of those dammed Ancestors, then what did that mean for everyone and…?

"Wait, you said that they were feeling it all the way in Italy?" suddenly asked the still scared Magus, making the Brigade member look at him with emotionless eyes before nodding. "How is that even possible?! What kind of Magecraft can have an area of effect that big?!"

"We're still not sure. There are some people saying that… this isn't Magecraft at all." a tense silence passed in the room when those words were spoken, and Lorelei noted with distaste that even he, one of her specially trained 'soldiers', was slightly shaking, unable to conceal it as good as her. "Also, some rumors are spreading."

"Rumors? What rumors?" snapped the Queen, grunting as another wave of cold and slippery… 'Fear' washed over her mind and body.

"Do you know that some of the youngest members of El-Melloi's class follow his example and use technological artifacts?" the man almost took a step back at the growling of the Queen at that reminder, her gauntlet slightly cracking the desk where it was resting, a clear signal that even her abilities to overcome 'this' were reaching its limits. "Well, some of them were using this thing called 'internet' to communicate and receive news from other places…"

"And?" asked Lorelei, not really caring about the means in the moment, just the information.

"If they are to be believed, then whatever is happening isn't only affecting us and the Church, my Queen." the man visibly shivered, and the head of the Barthomeloi noted how the other Magus in the room was suddenly looking around as if everything in the room was about to try and kill him. "It's happening worldwide. And it's gradually augmenting its effect. Each second."

Lorelei closed her eyes, ignoring the sweat that had started to cover her forehead.

For the first time, she was facing an enemy that she had no idea how to defeat.

Somewhere, in the fortress of the Princess of the Dead Apostles, the being known as Primate Murder was roaring, stamping with his paws at the ground and using his claws to destroy the earth, almost madly, the terror that was making his 'Mother' scream filling every fiber of his existence.

His master, Altrouge Brunestud was just sitting in her room, shaking slightly as she heard the scared sounds that the living Counter Force of the Planet was making, not even trying to fight against the 'Fear' that was slowly filling her.

After all, what could she even try to do against something that was able to infuse terror into the Beast of Gaia itself?

In a lost region of South America, in a place known for the supernatural part of the world as 'Crystal Valley', a massive being started to wake from its perpetual half-slumber, confused.

The Aristoteles known as ORT, the Ultimate One of Mercury, arguably the most dangerous existence upon the face of Earth, shuddered.

And then, it started to roar, its crystal-like tentacles smashing madly at everything around.

No one could really blame the creature denominated as the Fifth Dead Apostle Ancestor, though. After all, a being like him wasn't supposed to be able to feel emotions, much less the one known as 'Fear'…

…but there was no existence in this universe which was immune to the Light.

The Emotional Spectrum was absolute over everything that 'lived'.

That was why even the two consciousness of the Planet were screaming, Gaia feeling how everything living over her was being drowned by this senseless terror, even her own Beast.

Alaya's scream was only a little weaker; the consciousness perfectly sensing how every human mind in the planet was being slowly consumed by this Yellow Light.

'She' didn't even thought about it, didn't care that the feeling of danger was coming from everywhere at once. 'She' just concentrated in the place where the Fear was greater, where the Light was at its strongest, and called forth her dogs.

There was an eternal moment of absolute silence as her order transcended space-time, reaching the Throne itself, reaching for…

**NO.**

Nothing. No response. No effect. The Counter Guardians didn't come.

For the first time in existence, the shocked Alaya found that her orders couldn't reach her personal 'Cleaners'.

Because the Root itself was blocking her.

Alaya keep screaming, the consciousness of mankind unable to comprehend why Akasha itself had turned against her.

Obviously, it wasn't anything of the sort. It was just pure logic.

Outside Space and Time, this 'place' existed. It was known by many names: The Root of Akasha, the Forge of Creation, the Crib of Life…

And it was also the place where, at the beginning of Everything, the Darkness had been vanquished lastly, during that brief moment in where the Multiverse had been pure Light.

And when the Light shattered in seven, it had been the only place in where it hadn't broken.

The only place in all of the Multiverse where the Absolute Existence of the beginning still had its total power.

The only place where the Light was still Pure.

That was why all the knowledge, all the history, all the dimensions and all the possibilities where stored here. That was why those who had transcended humanity in one way or another, or those who had sold their souls to Alaya, were kept here, becoming one with the Light and as such becoming beings that could be called Gods.

And that was also the reason why, when Akasha had sensed the call of Humanity's consciousness to destroy something that feel 'familiar', it had reached out and had 'seen' what it was.

Then, it had denied Alaya's orders instantly.

After all, the Root wasn't going to allow that those which 'she' kept inside of 'herself' were used against one of the seven children of Creation.

'She' knew it would be futile, after all.

The Counter Guardians couldn't kill Parallax; just like they couldn't exterminate the Fear of the entire Multiverse.

* * *

"Ring! What is he doing?!" shouted Shirou with a ragged voice, finally stopping the onslaught of legendary weapons and looking at the cloud of destruction that had formed around the Entity's upper body.

_"Thi-this is crazy! Shirou, he's, in your Magus' terms, infusing the concept of 'Fear' upon everything in Earth!" _the Green Lantern's eyes widened, his mind running madly upon the implications of that. _"And he's absorbing all that Fear, creating and infinite cycle! The more Fear he absorbs, the stronger he turns and the more Fear he can release!"_

"That thing can do that?!" cried out Shirou, lowering the machineguns and looking at the giant parasite with horror.

_"It it's the manifestation of one of the forces that rules over the entire universe. You should only be surprised if he 'couldn't' do it!"_

"I don't understand! Didn't you say that Parallax was the Incarnation of Fear itself?! Why would it need to terrorized the planet to absorb its fear?!" asked the red-head, his head snapping up when a giant wave of yellow light tore through the smoke and destroyed a lot of buildings, the shockwave launching him through the air like a ragdoll.

**_"Auch. That hurt."_** mockingly smiled the Emotional Entity, his head emerging from the smoke and revealing how the brutal damage that the Noble Phantasms had done to it was vanishing in seconds without a trace.**_ "It's useless, Avatar of Ion. As long as there is Fear, I will keep on existing. You cannot destroy me, and if Ion is as weak as I was before then he can do nothing to even help you try to stop me."_** his jaws opened, yellow light accumulating between them with monstrous speed, directly pointed at Shirou. **_"Now, perish."_**

A golden beam of pure light screamed though the air.

"Dammit!" Shirou didn't bother in adding another curse before quickly dispersing his constructs and raising a hand, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get out of the way of something that big and fast in time. "Rho Aias!"

The seven petals of the shield of Ajax flared to life, shining a deep emerald against the incoming yellow wave.

Shirou realized too late that it wasn't going to be enough.

_"Shirou, brace yourself, I'm redirecting all the Will-Prana I can to the shield without making it explode!"_

Shirou answer to his ring's claim was a scream of absolute pain, when the first three petals broke up like glass, the beam going past them without notice. The fourth cracked and turned to dust just seconds after. The fifth slowly started to break while the beam spilled around the shield and keep going behind the Green Lantern.

"GAHHH!" growled the Magus while trying to not just drop to the ground from the pain. He knew it was only a matter of time, of course. Even if Avalon was repairing all the damage done to his body in seconds, he knew that Rho Aias wasn't going to withstand the attack.

After all, Parallax seemed like he could keep up like that the whole day, and at the rate that the Ever-Distant Utopia was consuming his Will-Prana he would probably be forced to dispel the Noble Phantasm before the seventh petal broke. If he didn't think of something quick, he was going to…

"Super Punch of Absolute Loooooveeeee!"

A giant beam of violet light roared through the air, impacting directly into the surprised face of the Emotional Entity, making it slam backwards and close his mouth. Which was still shooting that beam.

An impressive explosion, which damaged Shin Tokyo even more than what already was, followed a second after.

_"What the hell…?!"_ was the eloquent exclamation of the ring, he and his Lantern still trying to recover from the shock. And the excruciating pain, in Shirou's case.

"Shirou-sama! Are you okay?!" the poor Emerald Blade didn't even had time to catching back his breath before a certain Star Sapphire trapped him in a bone-crushing hug. "Thanks god! I thought that the giant yellow bug had hurt you!"

"Mu-Musubi?!" finally managed to said the Ashikabi, before surprising the Love Sekirei when he returned the hug. "I'm glad you're okay."

Maybe he hadn't doubted Yume when she said that his childish Sekirei was okay, but a part of him had still been worried of how the 'possession' had been affecting her.

"Shirou-sama…" smiled the busty Sekirei before resting her head in his chest. "I love you so much…"

Normally, the sudden display of affection that Musubi used would have startled Shirou, but be it for the repeated and brutal almost death-experiences or the fact that he was just too tired, he didn't do anything except to smile under his helmet.

_"Emotional Levels rising…"_ announced Musubi's ring, no one seeming to hear him.

**_He's the source of your power, my child. He's what brings you happiness and purpose. The other one knew that, even if she had more experience, you're the one with the most Love of the two. And so, she gave you back control because she believes in you. Go forth, Musubi, go and protect the man you Love and the Love of all the others in your heart._**

The Love Sekirei smiled at the Predator's words, losing herself more in her Ashikabi's embrace. She didn't know how Yume-sama had helped her, but she would not fail her or Shirou-sama. She was going to help him to end this with the Power of Love… and to show that happiness to Karasuba-sama.

Then, the furious scream of Parallax tore through the air, breaking the tender moment and making both Lanterns blink and look at the Entity of Fear, whose head had apparently been quickly reconstructed and was now glaring furiously at both of them.

Upon his head, the sinister form of Karasuba finally moved, her twisted and insect-like wings opening fully as a golden glow surrounded her.

"I can't stand those two." she simply muttered while raising her claw-blade, yellow eyes fixed upon the floating Ashikabi and Sekirei.

**_"You will pay for that, Avatar of the Predator…. But no matter what you do, it's useless!"_** more yellow energy flowed from him, making the screams of the city to intensify and that even Shirou and Musubi growled, feeling the Fear try to go past their Power Auras and consume them. **_"As long as this world fears, nothing can stop me!"_**

_"Shirou, I think I know what's going on… more or less!"_ the ring's insecure answer didn't bring any reassurance at the Green Lantern's mind, but he still turned his stare at him. _"Whatever happened when we came to this dimension made Parallax lost practically all of its power. That was why Karasuba didn't show any of the normal powers that an Avatar of an Entity usually has, like limitless Emotional Energy without the need of a ring. Now, Parallax has accumulated enough Fear to restore his physical form, and it's using his powers to try and regain his original might!"_

"And what happens if he do?" asked the Green Lantern, he and Musubi getting ready for the incoming fight.

_"Well, for starters, if he keeps this up all the existences upon this planet, even the planet itself apparently, would become unable to feel anything but Fear by the time he regains a fraction of his original power."_ Shirou's fists clenched while Musubi directed a pout-glare towards the alien parasite. _"That pretty much will doom all life upon this world."_

"We won't allow that!" shouted the Star Sapphire, determination burning in her eyes. "I'm not going to let that thing take away the Love of everyone in the world!"

"We have to stop it, now." muttered Shirou his gaze set upon the Incarnation of Fear, his heart hammering every second he heard the screams of the people of Shin Tokyo.

All that people was suffering, probably people from the entire world. He had to do something, and quick…

_'And what the hell are we going to do?! We shoot enough Noble Phantasm to kill Berserker at that thing, from freaking MACHINEGUNS, and it didn't make him so much as a scratch!'_

'We can't just give up! There has to be some form of stopping him!'

_"I know what you're thinking Shirou, but unless you have some sword stored in your head that can eradicate Fear from the entire Multiverse in one hit, you can't kill him."_ voiced the ring, making the Magus curse. "_But maybe between your abilities and Musubi's absurdly high Emotional Levels we can stop him for enough time to…"_

"To what?" pressed Shirou, noticing the strange hesitation in the ring's voice.

_"To incapacity his Avatar."_ finally answered the conduit of Will, surprising the Ashikabi and making the Sekirei to look at him with confusion. _"Whatever it's that brought Parallax here seems to have bound him to his Avatar in a way never seem, just like it apparently was done with Ion and the Predator inside both of you. You can't kill Parallax, but maybe you can at least temporarily seal him if you…'defeat' his Avatar."_

Shirou knew very well what his ring was referring to when he said 'defeat'. It was understandable.

Even if the Green Lantern Corps had a politic of not killing, his ring had told him that a certain event of the past had forced the Guardians to unlock to restriction that prevented the rings from killing their enemies, something that no other Corps had restricted originally. The politic had then been changed to 'Not to kill unless it was absolutely necessary, there was no other option, and only for protecting those who needed it'.

Right now, an entire planet filled with millions of lives was in danger. The sacrifice of only one being for the sake of saving them all was not only acceptable, but also necessary.

That was the path of the Ashura, put at the greatest extreme that Shirou had ever imagined.

Karasuba had to die if he wanted to save the world.

_'Finally, that ring says something that makes sense. No other option, Shirou. The world is at stake, there is no time to keep playing games.'_ the eyes in the Ashura's three faces/masks burned with green fire. '_You have to do what's needed.'_

'…no…that's not right…' the weakly muttering of the child-Hero made the other manifestation of the Emiya's mind to smile coldly, knowing that the kid didn't have anything to counter him. 'If you're giving up in saving her even before trying to do it, then you're not really doing all that you can do…' the child 'looked' at Shirou, a questioning gaze behind his useless mask. 'Isn't that what a truly hero would do? To try, at the very least?'

An image echoed through the mind of the Emerald Blade. A man smiling upon the almost dead body of a little child with hollow eyes, who looked up at him in wonder.

_"Could I ever be able to feel that happy?"_

_'You can't save everyone.'_ coldly declared the images of Archer and his Ashura, superposed upon each other.

'I WILL save everyone!' determinedly answered the superposed images of his inner Hero and his younger self of the Grail War.

Was it true? Had he really distanced himself so much from his ideal that he could no longer even try to do it?

The Emiya Shirou of the Grail War, even though that he was practically useless and didn't originally had any power to oppose the Servants, had never hesitated to kept trying until the end, to face impossible odds and nigh-invincible beings for the sake of others.

And now that he had more Power that he could able dreamed, power to make a difference, he couldn't even try?

Unacceptable.

He wasn't going to accept that. That would have been the same as accepting that Archer had been right since the beginning.

And there was no way in hell that he was going to give that satisfaction to that bastard, undefeatable Emotional Entity or not!

Because…!

_"**My Will was forged by Blades…**"_ echoed from the Emerald Blade's lips, surprising everyone present when roaring green energy flared around him.

"Shirou-sama…?"

_"Warning, Willpower levels rising! Shirou, is this the same that the other…?!"_

_"**The Spectrum forms my body… as Light ignites my blood.**"_continued the Magus, his eyes opening behind his helmet with the roaring image of an emerald shark-whale in them.

_"Power Levels at 23%! Power Levels at 35%! Power Levels at 56%! What the hell is going on?!" _cried the ring, scared and marveled in equal parts by the phenomenon.

"Don't worry, ring. It's just that I have decided…" he looked directly at the growling image of Parallax, noticing how hundreds of yellow lights were shooting from his body towards them. "That at the very least, I'm going to try. I will try to save before accepting that I can only destroy. Trace… Full Expansion."

27 seven Magic Circuits roared to life, shining inside Shirou's soul like an emerald flare. The Emerald Blade pointed his hands at his sides, pure Will shining in them.

_"These energy readings are…!" _the ring fell silent for a moment, before 'nodding'. _"If someone can do this, then it's you, Shirou…"_

"Musubi." the Love Sekirei looked at her Ashikabi, her eyes shining with determination. "Cover me. I'm going to need your help." he looked up, at the sky. "Over-Trace. Trigger…Open!"

An emerald array of circuits appeared through his armor, the hundreds upon hundreds of 'little' constructs that formed the web of Light filling themselves with Prana by absorbing and converting the Mana in the air.

"Yes, Shirou-sama! Let's show that bug to not mess with Love, and open Karasuba-sama's eyes!" Musubi turned around, violet power flaring around her body as her determination seemed to give a purpose to her normally chaotic energy, directing it towards a single and simple plan.

Kick Parallax and Karasuba's ass until both of them understood the meaning of Love.

Hey, no one said that it was a complicated plan. Or a really good one, for that matter.

"Hear me out, Entity of Fear." declared the Emerald Blade, pointing a closed fist towards the sky. "I'm not going to let you keep torturing my world." the image of Ion roared in his eyes. "**Ion's Will, answer me!**"

There was a moment of absolute silence…before the blades rose from the Hill of Swords.

The sky shined in emerald when hundreds of swords appeared above Shin Tokyo, forming around the city like some sort of dome, green light shining between them as some sort of barrier.

The screams of the city suddenly stopped, tons of confusion, wonder and even some crying replacing them.

"**_What?!_**" shouted Parallax, suddenly feeling his ever-growing power stop its advance, halted by an unmovable barrier of absolute Will. His eyes glared hatefully upon Shirou's form. "**_Do you think you can stop me when you can't even come out, Ion?! Karasuba!_**" the Avatar of Fear straightened when her Entity called for her. "**_It's time to kill them._**"

"With pleasure." answered the corrupted Sekirei, her claw-blade shining as she finally rose from the alien-parasite's head, before shooting though the air, a hundred golden lights fired by Parallax following her.

"Let's go, Shirou-sama." Musubi's fist clenched as her gauntlets shifted, turning into some sort of lance-fists of violet crystal.

"Yes. Let's do it, Musubi." agreed the Green Lantern, his pseudo-circuits shining with Will-Prana to maintain the Will-Barrier.

As Caliburn and Merodach appeared in his hands and he shot forward, Shirou could have sworn that he heard a voice telling him not to give up.

* * *

"Ugh…c'mon, I have to make this work!" growled Matsu, her face covered in sweat as she tried to recover from that 'wave of Fear' that seemed to have stopped, albeit temporarily.

When whatever that was had hit, she had almost blacked out from the sudden terror that had crashed over her, but be it for the fact that she was one of the 4 Sekirei that didn't have any restriction or for the Willpower that her brain now produced, she had managed to overcome the Fear with enough concentration and keep doing the complicated operation in which she was working.

She had been vaguely aware of the sound of Kusano crying in the back, and that of Akitsu's chains moving, probably a sign that the Ice Sekirei had wrapped the little girl with her arms to try and calm her, even if she too was being affected.

Then, it had suddenly stopped. She didn't even need to look at her monitors to see that it was thanks to her Ashikabi, now it was as if she had eyes in practically all the city. She just put on a little smile before concentrating once again. Who knew how much longer Shirou could maintain that barrier while fighting at the same time. She needed to finish this quickly and…

"Ah." the sound of Akitsu's voice made the Wisdom Sekirei blink and glance at her from behind her glasses, her hands never stopping sending the Will-discharges to the computers. "Ashikabi-sama did it?"

"He had stopped whatever that thing was doing with our heads. At least for now." she turned around, a grin forming in her face as she stared at her preparations. "We have to help him as best as we can, even if we can't fight beside him." she closed her hands. "And I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" sounded Kusano's voice from behind them, and Matsu was glad to see that, even if she had cried a little, the girl didn't seem to have suffered anything serious.

"Ready, Kuu-chan, to try and be a superhero like Shirou-tan!" smiled the bespectacled Sekirei, confusing both of her 'sisters' before dramatically pointing towards the screens, al ofl which changed to certain views of the city, only two still covering the brutal clash between the yellow parasite and the blurs of violet and green. "Shin Tokyo, rise and protect your citizens!"

And then, the machines came to life.

* * *

"Da-damn it!" growled the leader of one of the squads of MBI's soldiers, he and some other agents trying to clear a whole lot of debris from what used to be a cake shop, all of them trying to ignore the brutal clash between the local 'Superheros' and the alien giant insect made of yellow light, occurring somewhere a couple of Km. away.

When the crisis had started somewhere during the morning with Karasuba appearing and starting to blow everything in sight with her magical yellow ring, they had been dispatched with the orders to only help evacuate the zone and try to kept the civilians away from the madness.

They had been more than glad to do so. After all, if someone could stop Karasuba, then it was the Emerald Blade. Practically all the people in city believed the green-armored hero was some kind of protector send to save them from the sudden craziness that had taken upon the city lately (Most likely, since the active beginning of the Sekirei Plan), even those who worked for MBI.

They had been glad to see that there even was a couple of Sekirei helping to get the people out of the way.

Sadly, no one was expecting the sudden, all-encompassing TERROR that washed over the city, or the sudden apparition of a giant alien-looking yellow bug declaring something about the end of the world. Or maybe that last bit was their imagination, it was hard to say when you were being consumed by Fear and your city had suddenly turned into a bad imitation of a kaiju's movie.

Anyway, the fact was that, just when all of them had thought that they would just keep laying there screaming until going mad, a shining array of emerald swords had encompassed the city, freeing them from the brutal Fear by filling their souls with the Will to overcome it.

Unfortunately, even after the latest amazing accomplishment of the Emerald Blade, things were still looking grim for the citizens.

After the Fear was gone, a lot of people had just 'collapsed', too tired or shocked to keep standing/conscious, and as such it had fallen upon the poor soldiers of MBI the task to get the hundreds of unconscious people as fast of the mind-boggling battle as they could.

And that was without taking into account all the wounded that had resulted from the clash and the wave of light released from that damn monster, which had collapsed a lot of buildings and let a lot of people trapped under fallen debris.

The captain grunted again, feeling really useless. That guy was back there, superpowers be damned, risking his live to fight against a FUCKING REAL GIANT MONSTER, even if he had some help from the also superpowered Sekirei 088, and they couldn't even lift these rocks to help the trapped people!

"It looks like you're going to need a hand with that, officers." suddenly sounded a female voice behind them, making the captain and his squad to turn around.

A lot of them screamed in surprise and a couple even raised their weapons, pointing at the bizarre thing in front of them. It was… it was…!

"…Is that a hybrid between a radio-controlled 4x4 and a telephone?" asked someone with disbelief, making the captain realize that yes, that seemed to be the case. It looked like someone had dismounted part of the front of the toy and bizarrely hardwired an expensive-looking mobile phone in the front.

And also added metallic arms at its sides, somehow.

Then, the captain realized another thing. In the screen of the phone, there was an emblem shining in emerald: the Sekirei crest with the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps in the background.

"Don't worry, agents of MBI! The machines are here to help!" happily declared the talking toy before a lot of noise filled the street, making everyone eyes widen with incredulity.

Machines, literally, but not the type you would expect to see in a Sci-Fi movie, just normal 'machines' that seemed to be fused with another ones in some sort of Frankenstein rip-off, were running madly through one side of the street to the other.

He saw some radio-controlled planes/phone hybrids flying around and into the city, some sort of computer upon a grass-cuter running around the corner, and a lot of cars, real sized cars, that seemed to be customized with freaking mechanic arms (Probably extracted from some assembly line of a factory, by the looks of it) that were apparently driving themselves from one side to another, grabbing unconscious people or shouting at the conscious ones to get out of there.

"What…the fuck…?" muttered one of the agents, especially when a group of some sort of metallic spiders (That seemed to be made of those magnet-constructible toys for children and a lot computer circuits) passed between them, into the little cracks between the debris.

"…good, they are still alive down there! Injured, but alive!" the little car that was speaking to them turned around, waving at something. "Come here, big guy, we're going to need you to get this out of the way!"

"…I need to find a better job." muttered one of the agents when what looked like a hybrid of a lot of different construction vehicles and more arms came down the street. He was half-expecting it to turn into a robot.

It didn't. Just started to get all the debris out of the way, with surprising easiness and precision for something that seemed so bulky. The still shocked captain turned to look back at the car.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Uh, ehm… I'm Steel Gear, controller of the machines!" the car seemed to try to do a little military greeting with his arms. It didn't quite work. "I'm a, ehm, associate of the Emerald Blade and I'm going to try and help you all to save as many people as we can! Now, quick, you're going to need to get the people out from under there when our big guy finishes with the debris! If we work together, I'm sure we will get out of this crisis with no problems!"

Just then, a hybrid between a motorcycle and a lot of digital cameras tried to turn the corner and skidded through the street, falling to the ground with s loud smash. A speeding firefighter truck, with more of the robotic spiders riding upon it, rolled over the downed motorcycle just a couple of seconds after, reducing it to trash.

An awkward silence passed between the men and the robotic toy-car, only the sound of the debris being removed in the background.

"…that was a good motorcycle." idly muttered one of the agents, everyone else turning to look at the talking car with a raised eyebrow.

"Wha-what? I-it's my first time doing this, okay?! You can't blame for a little screw up here and there!" quickly defended herself the self-proclaimed Steel Gear.

(Un)Surprisingly, that did little to reassure the poor captain.

* * *

"Emiya-kun…" muttered a half-recovered Miya, leaning against a wall while looking towards where the titanic form of Parallax and the little, in comparison, lights were clashing.

When all those horrible…'things' that the possessed Karasuba had forced her to see had gone away, she had been vaguely aware of Shirou grabbing her in her arms and then putting her to safety with Kazehana and the others.

Then, that abominable wave of the same thing had washed over the entire city, and she had almost been driven mad when her still weakened mind was once again assaulted by that horrible energy. She would have, if it wasn't for the fact that Homura and the others had tried to keep her with them by using encouraging words, all the while fighting against the Fear themselves.

She had also noticed how a desperate Uzume did everything she could to try and shake Chiho out of that Fear-attack, all her effort seeming useless…

And then, a shining dome of emerald swords had encompassed the city, making the horrible feeling go away, filling them all with a strange determination.

Miya didn't need much thinking to realize that they were probably experiencing the purest form of what the ring called 'Willpower'.

"He did it, didn't he?" Chiho's voice echoed in the silent rooftop from where everyone was looking at the battle with a mixture of awe, preoccupation and fear. "Shirou-san made that thing that was trying to break our minds go away, right?"

"Yes, he did it. He really did." muttered Uzume while embracing her Ashikabi, immensely relieved that her Chiho was out of danger again. Then, she looked at the swords that enveloped the city with a smile. "Damn it bro, stop doing this awesome things. You're going to make my Chiho to truly fall for you if you keep it up…"

"U-Uzume-chan!" cried the young girl, blushing madly and frantically waving her arms around.

"Heh, I never said that was a bad thing, did I? Maybe he can still let the both of us join his harem." jokingly answered the busty brunette at her blushing Ashikabi, making her sputter even more.

Luckily, it seemed that none of the other Sekirei had heard them. They were too busy looking at the otherworldly clash of Lights, where their Ashikabi and their 'sister' were fighting.

"…"

"Homura? Are you going to say something?" asked Tsukiumi, trying to not let her worry affect her words. It wasn't really working.

"Yeah, Panty Flasher-chan is right Homura, you had been eerily quiet for a while now…" voiced Kazehana, trying to dispel the preoccupied mood that washed over her and her fellow Sekirei with a cheerful behavior.

"I'm watching my Ashikabi fighting against a giant fucking bug directly out of some bad kaiju movie with the power of terrorize a whole city just by existing and to shot beams of light as big a skyscraper. Do you think I need to say something?" sweetly explained Homura, a vein in her face throbbing violently.

Well, at least this situation couldn't get even any more bizarre…

"Guys, I'm glad I finally found you!" suddenly shouted Matsu's voice…coming out from a hybrid of an RC helicopter and a mobile phone with a fusion of the symbol of the Sekirei and the Green Lanterns in it, hovering over them. "What are you all doing standing there without doing anything?! There's a bunch of people in trouble down there, and the only thing we can do to help Shirou-tan is help them!"

"…" a shocked an incredulous silence filled the roof.

"Uh? Why are you all so silent now?"

"Ehm, Matsu…when did you build that thing?" curiously asked Kazehana, voicing what everyone was thinking.

"Around ten minutes ago, and I hope that you all come to help quickly, having my mind split in so many place at the same time is giving me a headache that you wouldn't believe!" as Matsu's voice said that, the incredulous Sekirei and one Ashikabi looked how a lot of RC planes hybrids passed flying over them.

A curious Uzume, with Chiho following closely, quickly looked over the edge of the roof to see a lot of bizarre vehicles and… machine hybrid-things running through the streets, getting the people out of the way or trying to get fallen debris removed.

Everyone turned once again to look at the helicopter, gaping.

"You… how… what?" was all that Tsukiumi could say.

"Heh. I'm Steel Gear now, controller of all machines! Mwhahahahah!" maniacally laughed Matsu, making everyone look at the screen with unease. "…ehm, sorry about that, it was just the stress, I'm sure. Well, sorry for this, but I'm off, they could use this little one's help a couple of streets in that direction!" and with that, the helicopter flew towards the south, where some smoke could be seen, smoke that in no way had been caused by a lot of the hybrid machines crashing because of their mind-driver's fault.

Really.

"…Woah, cool, now Matsu got superpowers too." muttered Uzume, trying to dispel the stupefied silence that had enveloped everyone. "So, ehm, what do we do?" maybe Uzume didn't wanted anything else but kept Chiho safe, but if the others were going to try to do something…

"Okay. That's it. I have had enough." simply muttered Homura, before igniting herself in flames and running at the edge of the roof, jumping off. "Logic and reality can go to hell, I'm just going to pretend that all of this is perfectly normal and do something!"

"…I think we should make sure that she doesn't hurt herself. Or something." muttered Kazehana after a little more silence. "We have to…"

"We have to help." the other Sekirei and the Ashikabi looked with surprise towards Miya, who had stood up and was looking firmly at the city.

"Miya, what are you…?" a raised hand from the landlady stopped Tsukiumi from speaking any further.

"Emiya-kun is not the only one who can overcome great fear, Tsukiumi." smiled the First Sekirei towards the blonde water user, before looking ahead once again. "And if we can't help him with the fight, then at least we have to help him by getting the people out of the way." Miya looked at everyone with a determined stare. "After all, this city is still our home, right?"

There was another moment of silence before everyone nodded, determination burning in their eyes. They were just about to follow Homura when…

"EVERYONE, WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!" suddenly cried another of the Matsu-copters, startling everyone. "Kuu-chan has just run out there!"

"WHAT?!" was the shout that echoed through the rooftop.

"Me and Akitsu were monitoring everything and I'm not exactly sure when, but she must have run off when we…! Anyway, I already sent Akitsu after her, but I need someone to go from that side too, I don't want to even think of what would happen if a lost light beam or something were to hit her or…!"

In less than a second, Miya had already jumped off the roof and grabbed the RC helicopter, making it squeak as they fell.

"Tell me where she is, quickly."

The Sekirei Number 001 wasn't going to let something made her look helpless ever again.

* * *

In the middle of a lonely street, Kusano was silently looking at the flashes of light and destruction that the clash between the Lanterns and the Emotional Entity was causing.

She didn't quite know why she had run out of the Inn and came here, she just was sure that she had heard someone 'calling' for her.

"Onii-chan, Musubi-nee…" she muttered sadly while looking how they were repeatedly being forced back, the combination between Avatar and Entity being too much even for the two of them.

The saddest part for her, but, was that the parasite wanted to fight them for no real reason.

That was bad, really bad! Didn't he know? That if they didn't get along like a family then the Darkness would come and eat them? Why was he doing this, why had he made the scary lady to think like him?

She didn't want her Onii-chan or her sister to get hurt… but she didn't want that the parasite's fault made the Darkness win either.

If she could just…try to make him listen… just like He had tried to do.

Just like…

**_…I never thought it would come to this. But alas, I'm here, speaking with you. Hello, Kusano._**

"Uh?" the little Sekirei blinked, looking around. She had suddenly found herself floating in a strange and dark place, and a couple of meters in front of her was… "Squid-san!" she cried happily, floating towards the gigantic squid-like creature in front of her and hugging, or trying to, one of his massive tentacles. "It's really you?"

**_Well, this is a surprise. You know about me, child? No matter, I will still present myself. I'm the Proselyte, Incarnation of the Indigo Light of the Emotional Spectrum… the Compassion of the Universe incarnated. _**-the squid sighed deeply, a flicker of sadness passing for his 'face'- **_Or that I would like to said, but sadly it isn't true. I'm sure the real Proselyte wouldn't have had to resort to this…_**

"Eh? What're you talking about?" asked Kusano while furrowing her eyebrows. "Why do you say that you're not real?"

**_Because in a sense, little one, I'm not. In fact, none of us in this universe is the 'real one'. We're just echoes, fragments that were extracted from the original Entities and sealed inside the Batteries of the rings that came here by an unknown force. We became self-aware when we entered this reality, gaining mismatched memories from the true Emotional Entities, and their forms upon acquiring an Avatar. I shouldn't even know any of this, but it looks like whoever did this made a miscalculation when dealing with Compassion. And thanks to that, I know the truth… And I still have had to resort to this, just to prevent a catastrophic crisis even before all the other Lights are reunited…_**

"Resort to what? Why do you look so sad, Prose-kun?" worriedly questioned the child Sekirei, having caught in the preoccupation of the squid, even if she hadn't really understood anything else.

**_Because I have been forced to follow the will of the ring. And it says that… the chosen of the Indigo Light are you, Kusano._**

"Me?" the little blonde blinked several times. "You mean, like how Musubi-nee and Onii-chan are now Superheroes? Woah…! But… why me?" questioned Kuu with confusion, frankly surprising the Proselyte with her question.

**_Because of your power, little one, of the potential you have inside you. It's the same, or as close as it can be, to our origin, and that naturally drew out the Lights towards you, even if you didn't quite have the emotion needed for any of them. You're still too young, so the Will that Ion seeks has still not appeared in your heart. Neither the fear of Parallax nor the Rage of the Butcher had place in a heart as pure as yours, even less the Avarice that Ophidian spreads. And the Love in you is still too young for the Predator to choose. But on the other hand, the wish for everyone to be happy, the wish that those around you understand each other, the wish for them to be like a family… Compassion shines brightly in you, Kusano._**

"When you say that my power is like you all…what do you mean?" even if she didn't quite comprehend most of what the Entity was saying, Kusano's mind had been almost involuntarily drawn to that question.

**_Why, I'm talking about Life, of course. That is the source of your powers, even if only a little; the greatest and most beautiful power of them all. The power that comes from our origin, from the origin of all things in the entire Creation. Our father and mother if you want…the White Light of Life._**

"Life…" muttered Kusano, the sudden image of a winged being which looked like an alien angel appearing in her mind, his body made of the purest white, illuminating it all. "But then…why are you so sad?"

**_Have you understood even half of what I have told you?_**

"Ehm…etto, yes?" weakly smiled the little girl, making the gigantic squid sigh.

**_See? That's why I'm sad. You're just a child, an innocent being. You shouldn't be forced to accept this burden so early in your life, that's why I tried to restraint the ring and see if it could find another bearer… but now, I have no other choice. Only the combination of your powers over nature and the Indigo Light can stop Parallax with even the slightest chance of not destroying him or his Avatar. He still believes that he's the original, and if he keeps this up he will doom not only this planet, but this entire universe. If he or anyone else destroys even one of the other Ring bearers… then we won't have any hope of stopping…_**

"The Darkness." Kusano's words surprised the Proselyte, who looked at her with astonishment. "You're right! In my dream, the other animals and you couldn't stop the Darkness because they were fighting instead of working together, like a family should!"

**_Your… dream? Well, I don't know about that, but I'm certain that we need to work together to stop this…Darkness. And for that, I will be forced to do… something horrible._**

"Why do you say that?" asked the worried little Sekirei, hugging even stronger the tentacle of the sad Entity of Compassion.

**_Because, if I were to grant you my powers like you're right now, you wouldn't stand a chance. For you to properly use your powers and mines to its full capacity… I will have to give you my knowledge. The knowledge of my Tribe._**

"What does that means?"

**_It means that my mind will pass to be a part of yours, little one. And that could drive you mad, not to mention the dangers of what would happen if it went wrong. And even if it didn't… it could change you forever. I don't intend for it to be permanent, but as I said, I don't know exactly what will happen if I do it. If something went wrong, even if you don't lose your mind or something… it could take away your innocence. I... I don't want to steal the childhood of an innocent, even if it's for the sake of the universe. I may be a fake, but I'm still Compassion. I don't…_**

"Do it." the Proselyte froze, his enormous eyes fixing upon the determined looking Kusano, a closed fist raised in the air. "Let's combine our minds to help everyone!"

**_You… you don't understand what you're saying! You can't even begin to comprehend the dangers in which you…!_**

"Uhm, you're right, Kuu doesn't understand most of what you have told. But… but I…" the little girl looked at the Incarnation of the Indigo Light with teary but determined eyes. "But Kuu doesn't want Onii-chan and the others to get hurt either! I don't want them to keep going and leaving me behind because it's dangerous, because I can't help them! Just once… Kuu wants to be the one to help them to be safe." a phrase that her Onii-chan had said not long ago suddenly flashed in her mind. "Just once… I want to save everyone."

The Entity looked in silence at the little girl in front of him. Finally, he sighed. It looked as if Fate had determined that there really wasn't another option.

**_Then… may the Spectrum forgive me for this. Good luck, Kusano. I hope that this isn't the last time that we talk like this… and that the next time it happens, I can still talk with the sweet and innocent child I'm seeing now._**

"Yay! Don't worry Prose-kun! I promise that we will!" happily smiled the Sekirei Number 108.

The Proselyte smiled too. And then, he touched Kusano's forehead with the tip of once of its massive tentacles.

**_Then, little one, all can I say is… Nok._**

Kuu's eyes snapped open. The symbol of compassion flaring in them.

And that same glorious image, that of the opposed arrows coming out from a circle, shined in the indigo ring that floated silently in front of her.

"Kuu-chan?!" Miya's voice made the little girl look to the right, where the landlady was looking at the scene with wide eyes, a strange toy helicopter in her hands. "Kuu-chan, get away from that thing, now, before…!"

_"Kusano of the Earth. You have the ability to feel great Compassion…"_ the blonde child looked at the front once again, vaguely aware of the shocked Akitsu arriving at the scene and of how Miya was jumping towards her, trying to reach her in time. _"Welcome to the_ **Indigo Tribe.**"

"Nok lorem taan." accepted Kusano, the words of a language as old as the stars coming from her lips.

And then, an indigo shine filled everything.

* * *

This was going really bad, and Shirou knew it.

So far, Parallax hadn't tried to blow them up with another of those hyper beams, probably trying to save his power for the moment in which his barrier collapsed and he could tap into the Fear of the entire planet once again.

And it wasn't as if he couldn't manage with just shooting an unlimited barrage of yellow light towards them.

When you summed that with the fact that he could barely keep up with the monster in which Karasuba had turned, even with Musubi's help and the abilities that his two Will-Traced Noble Phantasms granted him, you could understand why the Magus was growing desperate.

Even with the absurd quantity of Prana and the augmented Will that he could use now, he was still slowly being forced back, the strain of Avalon healing him from every almost-fatal hit, that occurred every now and then, and maintaining the Will-Sword-Barrier slowly but surely driving his reserves down.

It was only a matter of time now, to see what would happen first. If Karasuba and Parallax would kill him or if his energy would run out and his barrier would fall, leaving them once again at the Entity of Fear's mercy.

No more options left, he barely stopped another of the brutal slashes of Karasuba's claw-blade with Caliburn and let Merodach disperse, a long lance taking its place.

Even if it was now emerald-colored instead of crimson red, there was nothing that could mask the bloodlust coming from the cursed spear. Karasuba's head snapped at it immediately, a confused Star Sapphire looking at it too not so far away, where she was stopping another of Parallax barrage from reaching him.

He silently prayed that Musubi would forgive him, and thought that at least that was an improvement. The Shirou before the ring wouldn't have cared if it was for the greater good.

"I hope you find rest, Karasuba." the cursed spear of Cu Chulain flared to life, and the Green Lantern sadly realized that he still wasn't able to truly hate the ex-Black Sekirei. "**Gae Bo…!**"

And suddenly, giant vines rose to the sky, binding the surprised Karasuba. Hundreds more followed shortly after, grabbing at the incredulous Parallax legs.

Shirou's eyes widened, at the same time that Musubi gasped.

"**_What's the meaning of this?!_**" roared the Emotional Entity, starting to brutally destroy the vines with his yellow light…when a voice started to resound through the air.

Even if the words where a language that he couldn't understand, a part of Shirou somehow understood their meaning.

This was an oath. An oath about comprehension between all the living beings in the cosmos. An oath about a great man that searched without rest to find and save others. An oath about those who followed his example. It was an oath… about Compassion.

_Tor Lorek San, Bor Nakka Mur._

_Natromo Faan, Tornek Wok Ur._

_Ter Lantern Keer Lo Abin Sur._

_Tan Lek Lek Noon… Formorrow Sur!_

The ground started to shake; the entirety of Shin Tokyo trembled.

And then, a gigantic tree, as tall as Parallax was long, rose from the earth, crushing the street from where it grew just from its massive size. It was a titanic sight, Indigo colored, illuminating the whole city.

The dumbstruck Entity couldn't even open his mouth before the wines binding him suddenly turned indigo and tripled their mass, more, normal sized, trees growing from the earth around him and shooting their branches at his body, trying to immobilize him.

"Parallax!" shouted the stunned Karasuba, cutting the vines binding her and ignoring her enemies, flying towards the trapped Incarnation of Fear.

One of the giant tree's branches suddenly grew in their direction, showing how there was a beautiful an enormous flower in the tip… and that there was someone standing in it.

The little figure started to dance, the staff in her hand, almost three times as large as she was tall, spinning around herself with absolute dexterity.

An impossible phenomenon occurred then. The planet, Gaia herself, who was screaming in fear not so long ago… started to sing.

The beautiful, otherworldly sound couldn't be heard by anyone upon the Earth… except by the dancing little girl, who was causing it. But its effects were certainly visible.

All around the city, in parks, in pots, everywhere, the plants grew, flowers blossoming beautifully, all of them enveloped by a thin indigo shine…

"Heal, Shin Tokyo." ordered the master of the strange staff, at the same time that a glorious Indigo Light flew out of the giant tree, covering the entire city.

Before the shocked and incredulous eyes of everyone, injuries disappeared, cuts closed, fractured bones were healed…

The glorious power of Life combined with the healing abilities of the Indigo Light were, truly, nothing short than a miracle.

While Musubi and he marveled at what was happening, Shirou's reinforced eyes finally were able to clearly see the mysterious dancer.

His body and brain froze when he did it, making Musubi look at him with confusion and then turn to see for herself, gasping again as she did.

A tiny figure, clearly a child, her blonde hair slowly moving with the wind. An indigo tunic covered her waist and half her legs, and a top of the same color let her stomach and arms exposed, hugging softly her childish body. The indigo staff was firmly held in one of her hands, a ring of the same color in the other.

All over her exposed body, strange symbols shined like tattoos. The one that stood up the most, but was on her forehead, the same symbol that was shining in her eyes.

Two opposed arrows coming out of a circle.

Finally, Shirou seemed to recover his voice, weakly pointing at the figure.

"Kuu… Kuu-chan?"

"Nok, Onii-chan, Musubi-nee." answered the Indigo Lantern with a smile, her eyes turning back to normal and almost making the shocked Emerald Blade to flinch, because those eyes seemed to know too much to belong to the little child that always demanded his attention. Then, to his absolute incredulity, green, yellow and violet light gathered upon her staff, forming the symbols of the three different Corps. "Worry not, everyone… For Gaia's Child has come in your help."

At her declaration, the giant tree seemed to agitate, its branches extending and aiming themselves towards the roaring Parallax, who was starting to break free.

It was time for the final showdown of the Spectrum.

And all the while, the unheard song of the planet keep sounding, confusing its other consciousness… and filling the life upon it with wonder.

* * *

**Chapter End**

* * *

Yes, I finally did that. I'm sure that everyone is probably thinking. 'What the…?! What?!' but sorry, no spoilers for now, just a lot of surprising questions, I'm sure.

What did exactly the Proselyte do to Kuu-chan?! It's reversible?! What will be the consequences?! What would happen with the planet?! How will the great powers react after Parallax little stunt?! Will the guys get out of this alive?!

Well, you will have to come back to the EPIC next chapter, where we finally will reach the end of the first season! A lot of more action and battles that didn't quite appear in this chapter will be in it!

Now, about the part of Alaya and the Root, I will truly said that I worked in it just to make so that the Counter Guardians didn't show up (Sorry to everyone who was expecting that), because of two things. The first, because they wouldn't really help and would only have complicated everything for the worse, because no matter how strong they are, they can't kill the pseudo-Parallax, for our beloved cleaners can only brutally and simply destroy, and as long as Fears exists Parallax will too. You can't kill an Emotional Entity, only seal them, and that is still pretty fucked-almost impossible. The only being that had been showed to be able to truly harm and almost kill an Entity directly is…well, I won't mention him for plot reasons, but let's just say that he doesn't like the lights.

The second reason was, sadly, because I didn't wanted to cause a mass-attack from Nasuverse fans about the powers of the Counter Guardians if I didn't showed them as powerful as they are, or too much powerful, when compared to the incomplete Parallax. I have seen TONS of fics being attacked or generating discussions for that and I really didn't want to cause something like that.

So, I thought strongly about it and decided to bring up that little explanation about the Root, which made sense if you think carefully about it, at least in my head (The only one who will have the power to negate Alaya's orders would be Akasha itself, I'm sure), and will also bring more to the plot in the future. I hope no-one was disappointed by that.

Finally, we have seen a little more of Matsu's new powers, and they are quite useful, even if she had just begun to comprehend and use them. One reviewer asked if she could go all 'Iron Man' thanks to them, and well, I have to say, even if its technically possible parts to make a super-human combat armor aren't just lying around, you know? Matsu would need, I don't know, access to heavy and high advanced technology just to build the parts, but really, where can one find a company filled with alien technology around this humble world =D?

Also, Kusano won't use anymore of the Indigo Tribe language except for the only known translated word, Nok, which means literally 'Yes' or an affirmation, and is also frequently used by members of the Tribe. As a reviewer said, I don't want to just 'bullshit the language, and there is no existing translation for it, not even the oath of the Tribe is translated. The only facts known about it is that it talks about Compassion (Duh) and about the deceased Green Lantern Abin Sur, who was the Lantern of sector 2814 before Hal Jordan, the original Green Lantern in DC. Why does it talk about him? Well, that is DC history that is not really necessary for this story, not to mention very long XP

Okay, I have nothing more to say, except that I hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you all next time in the Season's end, my beloved readers, may you have a good day and may the Light protect you all!

This is Saint, signing off!


	14. Chapter 13: Lights of Emotion

Sorry for the wait, everyone. Well, here we're, my friends. The last chapter of The Emerald Blade's First Season. Woah, I still can't believe how this craziness born from a moment of boredom as a joke has come this far… well, I won't say anything else for now, more from me in the A.N. at the end of the chapter, but for now, enjoy the extra-especial Season's Finale, I'm sure it will surprise more than one =D!

Enjoy the reading and thanks once again to everyone who has accompanied me this far!

Now, to enjoy the extra-long especial chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Shine, Lights of Emotion. Illuminate, Darkened World!** or _"This is one of those titles that lets you 'feel' the finality.'_

A roar of fury echoed through the sky, coming from a furious being of Fear, chained down by the powers of Nature and Compassion…

But his deafening roars were nothing when compared to the marvelous, beautiful and unheard song that the planet was singing.

It was so gorgeous that even its other consciousness, that of humanity, found itself slowly but surely recovering from the 'pain' that the now almost nonexistent wave of 'Fear' had caused it, and, for once, it didn't restarted immediately its eternal fight with her sister, no.

For once, Alaya stopped to silently hear Gaia sing.

"**_Damn you, Proselyte! Damn you and your Avatar for this humiliation!_**" Parallax furious cry was accompanied by the sound of one of the lesser trees being cut down/smashed by Karasuba, letting the Emotional Entity enough movement of one of its legs to brutally cut down the biggest vines, letting his yellow light practically disintegrate the others that were still restricting him, his face turning into a sinister snarl. "**_You will need more than a couple of pathetic plants if you want to stop me, Avatar of the Proselyte._**"

"Don't mock the daughters of Nature, Entity of Fear. You can be in for a nasty surprise if you do." calmly answered Kusano, closing her legs as in a meditation pose and starting to float, her Power Aura coming to life.

As in response to her words, the giant indigo tree suddenly seemed to roar, its branches shooting forwards furiously while multiplying, starting a brutal assault against Parallax' form.

She wasted no time in aid them, brandishing her staff and letting the multi-colored energy upon it to be unleashed as brilliant bolts of light, arching as if they were lighting.

While the Emotional Entity unleashed a fierce counterattack, two flashes of green and violet light quickly flew towards the tree, stopping to hover just a couple of meters in front of the meditating little girl, who looked at them with a calm and happy smile.

Finally, Shirou managed to get his brain to do a total reboot and his coherent thought back online.

"Kuu-chan?! How...?! What…?!"

…more or less.

"I understand your confusion, Onii-chan, but we don't have the time or the energy for me to correctly explain things now. For now, you should at least know the obvious: Just like you and Musubi-nee have been chosen to fly under the banner of the Corps of Will and Love, I too have been chosen as a member of those who spread Compassion: The Indigo Tribe."

"…woah, how cool Kuu-chan, now you have a ring too!" happily declared Musubi while Shirou keep looking at Kusano with absolute disbelief, once again briefly thanking that his helmet hided his expression. "And it has also given you the power to talk all funny!"

"Heh, your enthusiasm is appreciated, Musubi-nee, but it's not the ring what has given me this unnatural awareness that I'm sure you too have noticed, Onii-chan." even if she was smiling, Shirou was able to notice the seriousness tinged with just a hint of sadness that shined in the little Indigo Lantern's eyes. "It's thanks to the sacrifice of the Proselyte, the Entity of Compassion, who has sacrificed his own mind to give me the knowledge to use the ring and my own powers with efficiency."

"Sacrifice?" asked the Green Lantern, glad that his hard-earned ability to keep the composure even in potentially dangerous or outrageous situations had finally came back. "What do you mean? Did the Entity…?"

"He's still alive, Onii-chan. Even if they don't have the power of the real ones, our Emotional Entities will still live as long as the Light shines in the Multiverse." Kusano had to raise her staff to stop the incoming wave of questions that Shirou was about to ask, surprising him. "Again, we have no time; my barrage won't stop Parallax for long, even with the help that Nature is giving me. I promise that I will explain everything after this, but for now all I can say is that the Proselyte sacrificed his mind so that I can help change the Fate of today's events…" the Indigo Lantern grimaced a little. "At the costs of most of his mental capacities."

**_Wiii! Look, Kuu, look! I managed to make a biiiig knot with just two of my tentacles…! Uh, wait… I can't disentangle them, uwaaah!_**

"Kuu-chan? You're making a funny face!" chirped the present Star Sapphire.

"It's… nothing, Musubi-nee. I just hope that he was right and this 'exchange' is truly only temporal…." the sound of Compassion-reinforced wood being snapped and burned down drew the attention of the three Lanterns, making them turn to see how Parallax and Karasuba finished with the last of the extended branches. "And finally it's clear that we have no more time." she looked at Shirou. "Please Onii-chan, trust me for now, we need to do this together."

The Green Lantern looked in the eyes of the Indigo one for a moment.

No matter what or how deep the knowledge that had been inserted in them was… there was still something in those eyes that he would never mistake.

There wasn't any deception, any possession like it had happened with Karasuba when under Parallax influence before or when being consumed by her own light. Those were still the eyes of his little Kuu-chan.

"…let's do this." Kusano beamed him a true Kuu-like smile when he said that. "But stay behind me." he finally remarked while dismissing Gae Bolg and tightly grabbing Caliburn with both hands, letting Saber's skills fill him.

"Yay! Let's do this, Shirou-sama, Kuu-chan!" summed Musubi while adopting a combat stance and looking fiercely against the Fear pair.

"Sorry Onii-chan, but that's not how this battle is mean to be if we want to see tomorrow." announced the self-proclaimed Gaia's Child before swinging her staff, once again gathering light of the other 3 colors, letting it fly fiercely through the tree's branch, which redirected it as a combined beam against the incoming yellow barrage of Parallax.

_"Incredible. Having the information about it is one thing, but seeing it myself is truly amazing." _commented the ring while the other two lanterns once again looked towards Kusano with surprise.

"How are you…?"

"Emotional Spectrum Emulation, an ability unique of those who belong to the Indigo Tribe." answered the little girl before Shirou could even finish his question. "I can use my Power Staff to gather and redirect Light of the other colors of the Spectrum as long as a Lantern of said color is near me, no matter if they are ally or enemy." she looked towards the incoming Karasuba, claw-blade raised to bisect them. "And once again, there is no time." a movement of her staff was enough to made the tree come to life again, its massive branches twisting and sprouting spikes and more, smaller branches as they rushed to stop the Avatar of Fear, surrounding her. "But there is something I REALLY need to do before that."

The Magus was about to ask what she was talking about before the next of Kusano's actions made his brain froze again, albeit for a very different reason, and he stared blankly at his youngest Sekirei.

She had just raised her hand… and created a giant, simple sword of indigo light in it.

"You have got to be…"

Ignoring her Ashikabi's words, the Indigo Lantern promptly proceeded to smash the still distracted Karasuba with the blade's flat side, launching her through the air like a ragdoll. The absolutely happy and satisfied smile in the little girl's face after she did that was, without a doubt, the most disturbing thing Shirou had ever seen in his life.

"Ah…you don't know how much time I have wanted to do that." beamed the little Sekirei with a happy tone, all the great and ancient knowledge seemingly lost in the face of that childish act. It was hard to tell if she was talking about finally touching a sword or about swinging it violently at someone.

Shirou's eyebrow twitched, dearly hoping it wasn't the later.

_'…Okay, I'm officially disturbed now. We REALLY didn't need to see that.'_

'…Kuu-chan is scary.'

_"Well… that went well_…_"_ muttered the Power Ring, ignorantly agreeing with the two voices in his user's head.

"…oh, I get it! Kuu-chan was always saying that she wanted to use Shirou-sama's swords!" exclaimed Musubi while punching her open palm, her expression seeming as if she had just deduced a very complicated mystery.

A new roar from Parallax interrupted any further shenanigans, a lot of tendrils of light soaring though the air while crushing any indigo tree in their path.

"Okay, now really, no time. Onii-chan, you take care of Karasuba, me and Musubi-nee will stop Parallax while you deal with her." the Power Staff was in front of Shirou's helmet before he could even begin to form the words of protest. "Please, trust me in this. We all have our duties as Avatars and we have to do it this way if the Light is to see another day in this world." she looked directly at him, once again with those deep eyes that seemed so out of place in her little face. "I know you will do the right thing, Onii-chan."

Shirou hesitated once again, his eyes flickering between the roaring Parallax, the still-recovering-from-the-smash Karasuba, her two Sekirei and, finally, the Will-Barrier of swords that was nullifying almost all of Parallax aura to absorb the Fear of the planet.

He took a decision.

"Musubi, protect her… and stay safe, you two." he declared before shooting forwards like a comet while spinning and becoming a drill-like vortex of emerald light, violently impacting with the corrupted Karasuba and taking them both away from the battle, crashing somewhere in the city.

**_"Karasuba! You bast…!"_** Parallax wasn't able to finish that sentence, because a giant, indigo branch closed violently around his jaws, seconds before a beam of pure Love impacted against it.

"Don't curse like that, you bad yellow bug!" shouted Musubi while looking furiously at the Entity of Fear, the first being to achieve the impossible feat of being truly 'disliked' by the naïve Sekirei. "In the name of Love and Shirou-sama, I'm going to punish you!"

"…you only missed striking a pose while saying that to look like a Magical Girl, Musubi-nee." smiled once again Gaia's Child, swinging her staff to bring forth the aid of Nature once again.

Gaia answered with the raise of her song, the notes encompassing the sprout of more trees, as the Earth brought forth the might of the only Indigo Lantern of this Universe, the only Star Sapphire at her side, flaring with the Power of Love.

Time to see if it was enough to stop the Fear.

* * *

"…can you repeat that? Please?"

"Ehm, Kuu-chan seems to have become the bearer of another one of those rings and is now commanding giant trees against the giant, yellow, alien bug?"

"…Yes, that's what I thought I heard." after saying that, Homura swiftly proceeded to try to smash her head against a wall.

Only 'Try to', because Uzume quickly wrapped her long strands of white cloth around her arms and head, stopping her. The Fire Sekirei seemed too out of it to remember that she could just _burn_ the cloth away, if her struggle was anything to go by.

"There she goes again…" weakly muttered Kazehana, once she got out of her shock.

"Uzume! Let me go, damn it!

"Yeah, no, I think it would be better if you don't break your head against that wall, Homura." sighed the Veiled Sekirei while her Ashikabi looked towards the Fire User, preoccupation filling her eyes.

"Seriously, if we survive all this shit I'm seriously going to bug Shirou-tan to find her a psychologist…" offhandedly commented Matsu through the Helicopter-Phone hybrid that had given them the shocking news.

Akitsu stood not far from the scene, looking worriedly at the unconscious Miya, who she had brought after the explosion of pure Indigo Light from Kusano's 'transformation' had knocked her out.

She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, though, as if all the Fear and suffering she had experimented during the day were slowly being erased, as if her body and mind were being healed…

At least that's what Akitsu thought was happening. But of course, being who she was, the Ice Sekirei didn't bother to voice her opinion out loud. She was too busy staring intensely at the brutal battle of Spectrum users.

"It's okay, you're safe now!" Tsukiumi sudden shout made everyone turn back towards the burning building just behind them, the fire currently being extinguished by a firefighter's truck swarmed by metallic spiders, while the Water Sekirei came out of the building, surrounded by a smoking water shield, a little girl in her arms. "You should be grateful, little one, that I, the strongest Sekirei, have bothered to…!"

"Tsukiumi, please, now is not the time." growled Matsu while one of her car-hybrids turned the corner and opened its door, letting the scowling Tsundere carefully deposit the confused/marveled child inside. The vehicle then closed its door and stormed off somewhere, probably to a hospital or at least as far away of the main battle as possible.

Fortunately, before Tsukiumi could even begin to said anything to Matsu's 'toy', the sound of air being displaced at almost sonic speeds passed upon them, just in time for the shocked Sekireis, and one Ashikabi, to see how a drill of emerald light, half-impaling a yellow blur, swiftly passed upon them, before crashing thunderously not-so far away, in the middle of a familiar park.

Akitsu specially recognized the place. She had killed a certain Archibald in it when he was about to kill Shirou, after all.

There were a couple of seconds of silence…before the most unexpected person took a step forward, decision filling her eyes.

"Let's go… to see if Shirou-san is okay." firmly declared Chiho, looking around at everyone.

"Chiho…" muttered Uzume for a second before smiling and wrapping her cloth around her Ashikabi, earning a little squeak from her while she jumped in the direction of the crash. "Heh, c'mon girls, bro is going to need someone making sure he doesn't get himself killed!"

The other Sekirei just had half a second of hesitation before following the other two girls, Akitsu grabbing the still unconscious Miya.

Homura especially put haste in her jumps; Uzume's words making him remember a certain event during one of Minaka's sick battles of the Plan.

No matter what he said about being needed or not, if Shirou tried to impale himself again to defeat an enemy she was going the punch him in the face, superpowers and magic be damned!

* * *

"Mikogami-sama, please, stop trying to go and look what's going on out there. I already told you that you're safer here." pleaded Mutsu, Sekirei Number 005 and one of the almost non-existent male Sekirei, stopping his exhausted-looking Ashikabi from moving away from the reinforced-room in the basement of his mansion.

"And I already answered you, Mutsu, that I want to know why the hell the world seems to have gone all crazy for no reason!" answered Mikogami Hayato with an unusually angry look in his tired face.

The boy, who also was the Ashikabi with more Sekirei in the Plan, had all the right to be angry, at least from his point of view. First, all the craziness with the 'Superhero' appearing in the city days ago and apparently disrupting the Plan, for Mutsu had quickly told him that there was no Sekirei with any abilities even remotely similar to this 'Emerald Blade'. Nonetheless, he had still planned on using his Sekirei to track down the supposed 'Superhero', to know who he was and how he obtained his powers.

Then, Karasuba, the feared Black Sekirei, had somehow gotten superpowers too.

That was when Mutsu had started organizing all of his Sekirei and giving orders everywhere to make sure that no one left the mansion except if it was absolutely necessary. This has generated discussion between the Ashikabi and the one who usually was his most loyal Sekirei, but the Earth Swordsman hadn't backed down, trying to reason with the young boy every time.

Mikogami didn't know what kind of destruction-machine Karasuba truly was. Mutsu had fight alongside her at the beginning, so he did. And if she now had some sort of power that allowed even a normal human to do things a Sekirei couldn't even dream of…

Well, he wasn't going to take any chances when it came to the safety of his Ashikabi.

The fact that a meteor had been about to crush the entire city had only added to his preoccupations, even more so that this so-called Superhero was able to stop something of that magnitude.

But then, this morning, things seemed to have gone crazy once again when another of Karasuba's attacks had been reported and people had started to evacuate a certain area of the city.

He was still arguing with his Ashikabi about how dangerous and stupid would be to try to go out when the _Fear_ had hit.

The wave of emotion had been so strong, so… unnatural that even he had almost succumbed to the horrible power.

His Ashikabi and most of the other Sekirei weren't as lucky. Almost all of them fell to the ground while grabbing their heads and screaming, horrible visions assaulting their minds.

He had been trying to do something, even if it was just saying soothing words to Mikogami that seemed to have almost no effect, but just when the despair from his uselessness was practically consuming him, the overwhelming presence of the Terror had seemed to just… vanish.

No, not quite vanish. It was still there, but there was something, some sort of power, of energy, protecting them from it. Some sort of… Will. Taking advantage that almost all of the other Sekirei were unconscious and that his Ashikabi barely seemed conscious himself, Mutsu had risked went out of the mansion to see what the hell was happening…

And had come to contemplate how there was a giant yellow insectoid abomination towering over the center of Shin Tokyo, a giant indigo three confronting it.

Oh, and some sort emerald dome made of swords encompassing the city.

He had closed the door immediately, made sure that all of his sisters were safe even if unconscious, ordered the conscious ones to not get out under any circumstances, and quickly brought his Ashikabi to the basement, where he hoped would be safe until all this madness ended.

But alas, Mikogami had woken up, and once again his demanding Ashikabi had started to argue with him about going out to see what was happening, his curiosity only motivated by the sounds of explosions and crashes.

Obviously, Mutsu wasn't going to let him go. He had seen that… thing, out there, and didn't want his Ashikabi anywhere near it.

"Please, Mikogami-sama, you have to hear me. You don't know what's going on out there, but believe me, if you did…" whatever the Earth Sekirei was going to add was suddenly cut off by some screams and the sound of something violently crashing thought a roof.

Seconds later, the figure of a certain Star Sapphire crashed into the basement, almost collapsing half of it in the process.

"Ugh… damn, that bug surely knows how to hit…" muttered Musubi while shaking her head and standing up. "But that doesn't matter! It will take more than that to stop the Power of Love!"

**_That's the spirit, my child. By the way, seems like we crashed into someone's home._**

"Uh?" the Love Sekirei blinked and looked at her side, where Mutsu was looking at her with her sword at the ready, a look of complete disbelief in his face while he looked at the ring in her hand. His Ashikabi was at his side, he too looking wide eyed at her.

But maybe that had something to do with her 'uniform', that made all of the Sekirei's clothes look decent.

"What… the hell?" finally was able to said Mikogami, looking up at the hole that traversed his mansion from roof to basement…

Just in time to scream upon seeing the giant head of Parallax looming over it.

**_"Prepare to die, Avatar of the Predator…"_** growled the Emotional Entity, yellow light gathering between his jaws.

"Mikogami-sama, run!" cried Mutsu while looking up at the beast. He would have to use his powers at its maximum capacity if he wanted to…!

"I don't think so, Parallax." declared someone before giant indigo branches came out of nowhere and wrapped themselves around the Entity's head, making it lose his beam and flare around violently.

Mikogami and Mutsu had barely 3 seconds to be mind-boggled by the sight of the giant FLYING tree before Musubi shot up like a bullet with a cry of 'Love Smasher Attaaaaack!' and hit the head of the monster with a crystal-gauntlet the size of a little house, making all of them go flying out of the sight of the Ashikabi's mansion.

Silence befell between the two of them while they just kept staring at the hole in the ceiling.

"…you know, Mutsu? I think… that I will take your advice and just stay here." weakly muttered the boy before falling in his rear, probably exhausted from the shock.

"Good decision, Mikogami-sama." answered the Sekirei in the same dead tone. "Now, I think…we should probably go see if the others are okay…"

While those two were still trying to recover contact with reality, Musubi was still trying to use the might of Love to break Parallax' head in thousands of tiny fragments, via punches-rain.

A little part of the Entity of Fear's mind that wasn't pissed off beyond belief was glad that he didn't really had bones, or most of them would have been broken by now.

**_"Do you really think that you have the power to stop me?!"_** roared Parallax before violently expanding his aura in all directions, breaking the braches and throwing Musubi off his face. **_"Stupid inferior beings, you're nothing compared to ME!"_**

As if to punctuate his words, the Entity shot forward and brutally rammed his jaws in the trunk of the giant tree, crushing it.

Kusano jumped off of it and muttered a silent 'I'm sorry' before swinging her staff, a sad look in her face.

The remains of the tree blew up with the force of a ton of C4, taking half of Parallax head with them.

"Woah! Good job, Kuu-chan!" chirped Musubi while approaching to the Indigo Lantern, apparently having survived her umpteenth crash of the day with only minor injuries. "Poor tree, though."

"Nok, Musubi-nee." muttered Gaia's Child to the Star Sapphire, passing her staff upon her to heal the little cuts and bruises, signs of the damage that had managed to pass her unstable Power Aura. "It's always sad when a child of Nature has to die…"

"…hey, Kuu-chan. Why do you keep saying that 'nok' thing? It's one of those words like that Shirou-sama said I should know, like modesty?"

"Ehm… no, Musubi-nee, that's not it. Nok is a word frequently used for the members of the Indigo Tribe, it literally means 'May Compassion be with you', but it's also used as a form of greeting or affirmation and…" both of them quickly separated in a burst of light, evading the giant claw of the still regenerating and very pissed Parallax by barely a meter. "…and maybe it would be better if we talk about this later. Musubi-nee!"

"Yes, Kuu-chan?" asked Musubi, launching punches of light repeatedly against the Entity's half-head, who was trying to crush her like a fly.

"Your Emotional Levels are much greater than mines, even with the help I get from Nature, you just need to properly focus them!" the little girl made a pause to swing her staff and launch a barrage of yellow, violet and indigo, light in Parallax direction, hitting at the base of the claw that had been about to crush Musubi, redirecting it enough for the Star Sapphire to dodge it. "Just concentrate all your Love in a form that you can properly visualize and then unleash it against Parallax!"

"A form in which I can see all my Love…?" muttered Musubi while putting a hand in her chin, flying backwards to evade more of the Entity's attacks. "…that's it! Predator-chan, can you help me concentrate?! Let's show this bad bug to not mess with love!"

**_Well said, my child. Let's teach Parallax a lesson._**

**_"Finally!"_** growled the frustrated Entity of Fear once his head totally regenerated. With that damn Will-Barrier enveloping the city he could barely tap into the Fear that he had spread through the planet, slowing his regeneration to laughable levels! He needed to destroy these stupid Avatars so that he and Karasuba could break that barrier and…

A flash of violet flared before him, and Parallax had to blink repeatedly to confirm that he wasn't hallucinating…

…when a giant Emiya Shirou made of violet crystal, Kanshou and Byakuya at the ready, surged and slammed against him, blowing like a giant bullet and catapulting his body across the town, making it crush more buildings.

It was just luck that practically all the people in the center had already been evacuated.

"…well, I wasn't expecting that, but good job Musubi-nee." smiled Kusano while she and her 'sister' looked at where Parallax had crashed.

"Heh, of course!" happily answered the Star Sapphire while puffing out her chest. "After all, there is nothing that expresses Love more than Shirou-sama!"

A roar that sounded ten times more furious than the last one echoed through the city while Parallax started to rise once again, his broken body regenerating quicker than before.

"…he's recovering more power. That means that Onii-chan's Will-Barrier is starting to lost its power." the Indigo Lantern sighed, swinging down with her staff to make another tree sprout forth from the earth. "I should have known it wasn't going to be that easy. Let's just hope that Onii-chan manage to stop Karasuba in time."

"Of course he will! If someone can show Karasuba-sama what Love truly means, that is Shirou-sama!" determinedly answered Musubi.

Kusano looked at her with surprise for a moment, before smiling once again and turning to look at the roaring Parallax. Maybe that wasn't what she was asking in specific, but Musubi-nee was right.

If someone could do the right thing and save the Fear-corrupted Sekirei, then it was their Ashikabi.

After all, there wasn't anything her Onii-chan couldn't do!

* * *

"We're all going to die."

"Dammit Minaka, if you don't have something positive to say then shut up!"

"Okay. We're all going to die quickly."

"Mamoru, do me a favor and hit him in the head with something, ok?"

"Ehm, I don't think I should do that, Miss Takami." gulped the poor secretary, dearly wishing to be anywhere in the world but there.

Well, that's what someone usually think when their city is attacked by a giant alien-monster with the power to psychically attack the minds of everyone with some sort of Fear-hallucinations, right?

"Instead of standing there being useless and talking about how we're all going to die you could be helping me find my children!" shouted a frustrated Takami, still trying to make sense of the crazy puzzle in which the cameras of the city had turned.

The fact that most of them had been removed and that the ones still functioning showed how they seemed to be strange machine-hybrids running around the city didn't help matters.

"Takami, Karasuba has managed to summon that thing with which she tortured us, some sort of demonic alien-god of Fear, apparently, and is currently fighting against those other lunatics with super rings in the center of the city, not to mention that a giant barrier of swords is apparently the only thing stopping everyone from going into a madness attack of absolute terror, which was apparently expanding worldwide before that barrier was raised, by the way." the CEO took off his glasses and shot a deadpanned look at the Scientific's eyes. "So, can you tell me HOW in Hell's name I'm supposed to be positive?!"

"…you… just shut up." repeated the woman, once again turning to look at the monitors, probably to not face the surprisingly cold logic that Minaka just threw to her face. "We… can still trust that those other ring-users would stop her!"

"You mean the unknown civilian and the Sekirei with less IQ than a little child?" asked Minaka with a raised eyebrow. "Oh yeah, you don't know how much that reassures me."

"Ehm, and the Number 108." weakly voiced Mamoru, making the man and woman to blink and look at him.

"What?"

"Uhm, yes, the Number 108, Kusano, remember? From what one of our agents that had the disgrace to be blown up by the aftershock of a missing blast of yellow light, the Sekirei 108 seems to have come in possession of another of those rings, indigo colored, and has used its powers to release some sort of 'Healing Wave', upon the city, and also summoning… giant trees to help fight the monster." he looked up from his phone a conflicted look on his face. "With all my respects, sirs, I humbly want to ask for an augment in my salary."

"…you…ok, you have it." vaguely muttered Minaka, bringing a bottle of wine out of nowhere and starting to drink directly from it.

"Kusano? As in, little Kuu-chan?" Takami's mind seemed to have suffered another severe blow… but then a strange frown replaced it, making her look confused. "Wait a minute… First Musubi, then Kusano…" she blinked repeatedly.

Minaka, having heard what she just said, froze. His mind added another thing to that list. The Emerald Blade had surrounded the city with SWORDS. Not created from his light-powers, but real swords.

"Mom?! Can you hear me?!" the sudden intrusion of Yukari's voice make the three members of MBI blink an turn, confused, towards the monitors, one of which showed the concerned face of the Ashikabi girl, who smiled upon seeing them. "Woah, it worked! You're awesome, Steel Gear!"

"Yu…kari?" the woman shook her head and ran towards the monitor, almost not believing it. "Yukari, thanks god you're okay! Where are you?! And how are you talking to me through this frequency?"

"That would have been me, people of MBI." everyone blinked when in one of the other monitors appeared the strange symbol of the Sekirei crest upon the Green Lantern Corps emblem, shining in a metallic color. "I'm Steel Gear, controller of machines, an associate of the Emerald Blade! You don't need to thank me for helping your daughter; I was only doing what any…"

"Matsu? Is that you?" Takami's sudden question seemed to make the so-called Steel Gear to choke in her own words and made Yukari blink.

"Matsu?" she turned to look at Shiina, who, like her, was riding in the back of a firefighter's truck, keeping an eye in the dozens of metallic spiders sharing ride with them. "Hey, now that she says it, it surely sounds like Matsu's voice…"

"Mistress… I think that was, ehm, a little obvious." sighed Shiina while Yukari's eyes widened.

"Heh, heh, heh! Matsu? Who is that? I don't know what you're talking about!" the nervous laugh coming from the monitors didn't make anyone believe in the Sekirei's words any more.

"Matsu. I will only ask it once, and I want you to answer with the truth. Understood?" there was such… Power in Takami's voice that Minaka couldn't help but wonder if she was unknowingly using some sort of unknown Magecraft. In truth, that was just the voice of a REALLY enraged mother. "Is the Emerald Blade my son?"

A deep, shocked silence filled all those who were listening to the conversation for a few seconds. Then, the symbol of Steel Gear disappeared from the monitors, Yukari's image following shortly after.

For Takami, it couldn't have been a better confirmation than if Shirou himself had said 'Yes'.

"…crap. This is not good." muttered Matsu, sweat covering her forehead as she once again extended her Will through the machines in the city.

She just hoped this wouldn't end up being something as bad as she thought…

In the now silent firefighter's truck, a still shocked Yukari was staring with wide eyes at the screen of the computer that had been hardwired to the vehicle, Shiina in a similar state at her side.

Finally, the Demon Ashikabi seemed to regain the ability for coherent thoughts.

"The Emerald Blade is…. Onii-chan?" she muttered with incredulity, turning to look at Shiina as if asking for confirmation.

"Okay… I really didn't that coming." admitted Shiina with wide eyes.

Just then, an enormous explosion of yellow light coming from not so far away made both of them turn their heads that way with surprise.

And then, a blade as big as a building fell from the sky.

* * *

In the broken center of the park that had seem more blood than any other part of Shin Tokyo, two figures rose, staring directly at each other in absolute silence.

Finally, the yellow one decided to break the silence.

"What? Did you want to fight in a place out of view so that no one has to see you die?" questioned Karasuba while fully opening her insect-like wings, the hole that she had in the side from Shirou's impact slowly disappearing under yellow light. "That's fine with me… I'm going to kill you anyway."

"Karasuba… no, talking to you at this point would be useless. You're not her, even I can see that." the Emerald Blade stood with his arms extended to his sides; his trusted twins Pian Dao appearing in his hands. "You're just a hollow shell that keeps going with void words and fake bravery."

"What would you know?! You're just a stupid human!" the Avatar of Fear roared furiously, her yellow eyes piercing Shirou with hate. "I don't need you or anyone! I don't need Love! I'm FEAR! And when I kill you, I will finally prove that I was right from the beginning!"

The Magus simply stood there, receiving the words without so much a flinch. He looked past the furious death-threats; looked past the monstrous armor, past the yellow eyes that only knew Fear.

There. So little it was almost nonexistent. In the middle of it all… there was just a scared being that feared losing the only thing that had ever given meaning to her life.

There was a soul who needed to be saved.

That was all that Shirou needed to see. And here, where no Entity was aiding to keep drowning her in her sorrow… he would be able to do it.

To save everyone.

To save Her.

"Then come, Avatar of Fear." the Green Lantern flared his Power Aura, the symbol of Will burning in his eyes so bright that it could be seen even through the visor of his helmet. "Let's see who is right and who isn't."

Karasuba's answer was a wordless scream of animal fury while she shot towards him, claw-sword at the ready.

Shirou wasted no time. He launched the Married Blades like missiles and immediately created another two while flying towards the incoming Sekirei, who simply deflected the swords with her arm before clashing against him.

The only thing that stopped the brutal onslaught of attacks from reducing him to minced meat was the suicidal style that his future-self had developed and he had been refining through the years.

Up, down, to the right, to the left. A direct hit to the side, a slash that should have cut a brutal part of his side… all of them were deflected, as if he already knew from where they would come.

And he did, of course, for he was the one giving all those openings, purposely letting vital parts of his body exposed during the fight, making his enemies seek them without knowing that he would be ready to block and deflect their attacks.

This was a style that was mortally dangerous, and that wouldn't work for anyone else. It was a style meant to give an inferior, weaker human the ability to fight against superior existences, against creatures and threats too dangerous for normal persons to ever imagine to face.

But that was before. Before Emiya Shirou became the Emerald Blade. Now, even if it still looked suicidal…

"Overedge." suddenly voiced the Magus, the increasing in the swords size altering the next of Karasuba's strikes and getting her out of balance for one second. Just enough for the first pair of Kanshou and Byakuya to come back and stab her in the back.

… it was a style meant to give an advantage to someone with the power to fight back with equal power.

"GAH! Damn you, bastard!" roared the corrupted Sekirei, insect claws sprouting from her back and crushing the Married Blades, both of them summing to the brutal attack that Shirou was receiving.

The Green Lantern ducked and avoided as he could the consecutive attacks, the last of them managing to get past his Power Aura but being unable to do more than a flesh wound to his Will-Reinforced body. If he didn't do something, and quickly, he would slowly but surely lose.

_"Shirou. I found what you needed."_

"Good. Bring it to the front, now." just as he finished his words, the information of the weapon that his ring had searched appeared inside his helmet, and he immediately found them inside of him

Emiya Shirou's Magecraft was something unique, but not as perfect as some would think. Even if he could perfectly remember every weapon he saw because it immediately recorded itself inside Unlimited Blade Works, he couldn't know everything ALL THE TIME about every single weapon. That would drive him mad, distorted mind or not.

If he concentrated, he could search through his Reality Marble and look at the weapons inside of it and their stories one by one, but thanks to Gilgamesh and Archer he just had TOO MANY blades inside his soul to remember all of them and their specifics powers all the time. He needed to know beforehand what he wanted to Trace before bringing it out from the Blade Works, and, as a human, there was just so much he could remember at the same time.

It was just a little stroke of good luck that he now had a tool that could perfectly do all that and more in seconds without breaking a sweat.

_"Weapon selected. Properties acknowledged. Eight Steps Completed! Trace…!"_

"…on!" finished Shirou for his ring, a colossal blade that not even Berserker could have properly wielded appearing while floating just upon his head, the tip directly pointed at the shocked Karasuba.

The monstrous sword was something that looked almost otherworldly, a weapon at which someone only needed one look to know it was never meant to be used by human hands. It was almost two times as long as the son of Zeus had been tall, and it looked more like a deformed demon-wing with a handle than a sword, its blade as thick as one the Berserker's arms had been. Rock of unknown origin and steel forged by superior beings were the material which composed it, and even if now shined in a pristine emerald, Shirou knew that its original colors were grey and crimson.

A part of Shirou's mind wondered about where Archer, for he had seen it in the Counter Guardian's Marble, had ever seen such a blade. Perhaps the Gilgamesh of his timeline had used it against him? That would made sense, especially with the history that this unnatural weapon had.

This was Sul-Sagasa, the 'Red Blade'. A sword which shared its name with a Sumerian deity, probably its original wielder. It was a weapon not of man, but that of the long-lost Gods.

It was also a weapon that not even Archer would have been able to simply Trace, due to the insane amount of Prana that it required to be brought into existence.

His ring offhandedly commented that he was not impressed, that there were far more intimidating and dangerous things in his universe. The Green Lantern smiled.

"What the hell…?!" exclaimed Karasuba, having been thrown out of balance again thanks to the shock from the aura that the colossal and divine Noble Phantasm emitted.

"Sul-Sagasa." simply declared Shirou while pointing to the Avatar of Fear. The Divine Weapon answered, coming to life as a colossal beam of pure energy shot out from the tip of the sword, burning the air itself as it impacted against the corrupted Sekirei, brutally dragging her through the park before finally exploding with astonishing force, enough to launch Shirou backwards and force him to disperse the Noble Phantasm.

_"…okay. I will accept it. That was pretty cool." _voiced the Power Ring once Shirou had stabilized himself, floating some meters over the park and looking at the brutal annihilation he had brought with wide eyes. _"Maybe we went a little overboard with that thing, though."_

"Damn… I didn't think it was THAT powerful, I shouldn't have underestimated how the Will would have augmented its power." the Magus looked apprehensively at the burned and collapsed earth that had been almost half the park less than a minute ago. "Do you think that maybe she…?"

_"Warning! Colossal spike in Fear Levels detected! What is she doing?!"_ the ring's words were accompanied by some of the smoke that covered the area dispersing quickly; yellow energy flaring around Karasuba's raised claw-blade. Her armor was cracked in a lot of parts, but the most prominent one was her half-collapsed helmet, which let her slightly burned face and a glaring yellow eye exposed to see.

The Green Lantern's eyes widened when he saw how her Sekirei wings had appeared once again, shining madly with golden light in her back.

"Wait a minute… Don't tell me that's…!"

"Absolute Fear of my contract… Burn to ashes all that stands in MY path!" roared the Avatar of Fear, the energy upon her arm burning with a promise of total destruction.

_"Her energy seems to be burning itself out for a unique destructive release! What is that?!"_

"Her Norito!" answered Shirou while raising his hands, discarding the thoughts of what the hell had Karasuba done to her own core with her ring to be able to use it without the need of an Ashikabi, and how it had changed it, because he was sure as hell that the Fear part wasn't in her original chant. "Ring, the other one, now! I need it to survive that!"

_"Incoming! It's in your helmet now!" _

"Infernal Terror!" Karasuba's scream pierced through the air at the same time as a giant slash-like wave of Prana and Fear shot forwards, reducing all in its path to ashes, burning earth, air, plants, metal and concrete all the same.

"TRACE, ON!" roared ring and Lantern at unison, Will-Prana being expended madly while the wave of burning destruction screamed towards then…

…and was brutally stopped when a Titanic sword crashed into the earth just before Shirou, the impact being enough to make great part of Shin Tokyo shake upon itself. The Infernal Terror roared madly, unable to incinerate the obstacle and finally disappearing after expending all of its energy.

"… No… freaking… way…" muttered a stunned Karasuba, looking up at the new inhuman weapon.

A straight sword of rock. That would have been all that was needed to describe it. However, his colossal size only was enough to left someone speechless, looking at the thing in absolute disbelief. The blade was MASSIVE, big enough that it would have been able to crush Berserker with one swing. It was a weapon whose mass only was enough to make it crash and impale itself in the earth a quarter of its length.

And that was the most terrifying of it all. That it was a weapon. This was no decoration, no part of a statue or monument of old. This was a blade that had once been wielded by something, in an era that the modern man had long forgotten.

It was a sword meant to crush mountains.

This was Ig-Alima, a sword wielded by another Sumerian deity of the same name, which legend was very close to that of Sul-Sagasa. Ironically, his original colors were those of the dark divine rock that made it, but its name literally mean 'Green Blade'.

Shirou would have laughed at the irony it his body wasn't burning like hell.

This was, without a doubt, the most costly sword that existed in the all of his Reality Marble. The amount of Prana needed to Trace it wasn't just big, it was a joke. Not even two Barthomeloi Lorelei would have the amount necessary to bring it to existence. It was a testament at how much power the combination of his Magecraft and Willpower could achieve that he had managed to do it at all.

It had also blown up most of his armor parts, more than half of his artificial circuits having exploded from the strain.

_"Power Levels at 19%. Okay… that was really awesome. I almost thought that we wouldn't make it!"_

…it had also depleted most of his Willpower, apparently. He could already feel his barrier starting to fail and slowly collapse, the Will of Ion now a distant echo.

But it had been enough. Even though one of the sides was badly blackened and burned, and there were some cracks filling the titanic Noble Phantasm, it had saved them from certain death. Now, he just needed a moment to catch his breath and…

"NO MORE TRICKS, SHIROU!" Karasuba's roar was accompanied by the most horrible of all sounds: That of legendary rock breaking. "NOW YOU DIE!"

The Emerald Blade looked up just in time to see the blade of Ig-Alima shatter, Karasuba's claw-blade following the same destiny after she apparently created a spinning giant version of it to drill through the weakened Noble Phantasm, which wasn't in the best of states after receiving the corrupted Norito. Shirou couldn't even think of how much damage she had done to herself doing that, if her bloodied hand was anything to go by, because in that moment her Fear-powered katana reappeared in it as if it had been always there, the blade flying directly at his neck.

The Green Lantern quickly flew backwards, but not quickly enough to avoid his helmet being destroyed and a little gash appearing in his right cheek.

"Dammit!" growled the Magus while trying to regain his footing, but knowing that it was useless.

He wasn't going to be able to Trace anything before Karasuba's incoming katana bisected him or…

"UAAAHHH!" cried Matsu's voice through the air at the same time that a firefighter's truck being rode by some sort of mechanic spiders brutally rammed itself against Karasuba, taking the surprised Avatar of Fear with it before slamming against one of the still intact trees.

Shirou blinked. He saw the spiders evacuate the truck seconds before a roaring tornado of wind-empowered fire crashed against it, making an awesome explosion.

Then, a torrent of water brutally smashed the still burning remnants, a rain of pointy icicles brutally slamming against the zone shortly after.

"Uff, talk about arriving just in time." smiled Kazehana while Akitsu lowered her arms at her side.

"Hmmpf, it wasn't really that difficult." huffed Tsukiumi while looking away, Homura at her side looking from the shocked red-head to the beyond-destroyed park and then at the smoking mess where Karasuba was.

"You know what, I'm not even going to bother saying anything." simply sighed the fire user before approaching Shirou and offering him a hand. "You're really an idiot sometimes, you know?"

The Emiya blinked several times before taking her hand and looking around, a sudden epiphany hitting him. This was the difference; this was what truly differenced the Counter Guardian EMIYA from Emiya Shirou, the Emerald Blade.

Where Archer had pushed away everyone just for the sake of following his ideal, every time turning harder and harder in his soul, he wasn't alone. He had them. All of them.

He had people at his side that would come to help HIM when HE needed help. He remembered then a conversation that he had with his ring not long ago.

Nowadays, the Corps always made sure that every Space Sector had at least two Lanterns in active. When he had asked why, the conduit of Willpower had simply shrugged and said: 'Hey, even Superheroes can't do everything on their own, you know? Everyone needs someone watching their backs.'

That was the difference. The knowing how to appreciate the people around him instead of pushing them away while chasing his dream.

The ring had taught him that. And it was for that same reason that he hadn't died thirty seconds ago. Because someone had come to the Hero's aid.

He wasn't alone.

"All of you… are going to die… painfully and slowly!" growled Karasuba while flying out of the destroyed zone, yellow light surrounding her. Even so, she was clearly worse for wear, blood covering part of her body and one of her legs dangling limp, probably broken.

It looked like the destructed combination that had hit her by surprise had been enough to trespass her already weakened Power Aura.

Everyone tensed, Shirou's eyes widening while his mind searched frantically for something that he could still Trace with his nearly depleted reserves, distantly feeling how the Will-Barrier was already collapsing. If he had just a couple of seconds more, maybe he could…!

A spike of energy and a familiar smell intensifying made him turn his head just in time to see a blushing but determined Chiho separating her lips from Uzume's, the Veiled Sekirei smiling before quickly turning and slamming her hands in the earth.

"By the veil of my contract, my Ashikabi's nightmares will be dispelled!" roared Uzume before hundreds threads of cloth burst from the earth just under the incoming Karasuba, surrounding and entangling her in all direction with a speed too great for a normal human's eye to see.

Even with his reinforced eyes, Shirou lost sight of most of the threats multiple times while they keep converting the weakened Karasuba into a giant cocoon.

"What…?!" started the Avatar of Fear before her head was covered too, the might of Uzume's Norito having still not finished as it keep weaving around itself, with no end in sight.

"Eternal Silk." finished Uzume with a smile, the prison of thousands of threads finishing itself. No normal Sekirei would be able to simply escape from this before the threats had squeezed them tight enough to Terminate them. Even for the top tier of their species, it would be difficult to simply escape from it with brute force, seeing as the cocoon left no space to use weapons or powers without self-harming.

Even a normal Lantern would still need more or less ten seconds to break from it if it managed to capture them by surprise. And even weakened as she was, for Karasuba it would only take five.

It was enough.

"Thanks, Uzume, Chiho." said Shirou while shooting himself at the breaking cocoon, a long katana appearing in his hand.

It was just that. No Noble Phantasm, no especial, mystical or legendary weapon, no Mystic Code. It was just a plain, normal katana. One finely crafted, like the modern era didn't produce anymore, but that was it.

It too was enough. Karasuba roared as yellow light tore her way out of the prison of Uzume's Norito, swinging brutally with her katana at Shirou.

The Magus deflected it without trouble. And the next swing. And the next one. And the next.

The corrupted Sekirei started to realize that something was wrong when no matter how brutal or quick her attacks were, Shirou just seemed to… 'flow' around them like water, no movement wasted, with a grace and mastery of his weapon that seemed out of this world.

Yes, it was just a simple katana. A katana that had belonged to a man that had been anything but simple. Summoned by the Witch of Betrayal in the 5th Holy Grail War, that man, not even a proper Heroic Spirit, had adopted the identity of a fictional samurai, Sasaki Koujirou, just like the sword which was now in Shirou's hands had adopted the identity of his blade, Monohoshizau.

He was no renowned hero. No great demigod. No king, no emperor. Just a simple samurai that had passed all of his life polishing his skills… until they were so great that none other could compare to him, even though no one knew of his existence, let alone his true name.

Summoned as a Fake Assassin, years later, Saber had confessed to Shirou and Rin that, if she and the samurai had fought during their lives as humans, she would have undoubtedly lost.

A simple man whose skill was so great that, even as an Assassin, was able to fight almost equally to the King of Knights, summoned under the greatest of the seven classes.

A man that had created a skill so incredible, so otherworldly, that, without the need of any especial power, was borderline Sorcery.

Just with his bare hands and his skills.

And it was that man's simple katana which Shirou now held in his hands, the nameless sword that had adopted the name of Monohoshizau.

Karasuba hesitated, the godly level of skill that the Green Lantern was showing making her stop her next swing to search for an opening.

The Magus smirked. He took THE position, half-showing his side to his enemy, confusing everyone that was entranced looking the battle. The Avatar of Fear roared, thinking that he was underestimating her, and shot forwards with ferocity, generating two insect-claws from her back, sure in that she could avoid whatever attack Shirou was preparing.

Unfortunately for the corrupted wagtail, this was a technique that could kill a flying swallow.

"Hiken…" the katana rose, finality written in its edge and in the Emerald Blade's eyes. **"…Tsubame Gaeshi!"**

Reality broke. Space-time was transcended. The impossible became possible, just through a skill, something worthy of being called the ultimate sword skill.

One slash became three.

The sound of a single blade cutting flesh resounded through the air, and suddenly, Shirou and Karasuba were standing almost ten meters from each other, both of them showing their backs to the other.

Everyone present blinked; their eyes wide with amazement and disbelief, unsure if what they had just seen was truly real, or of what exactly they had seen.

Then, Shirou's katana broke in thousands of pieces, making all of them tense and prepare to…

"…How?" muttered a wide-eyed Karasuba, her claws and what remained of her armor suddenly exploding, leaving her in the destroyed remains of her Golden Shōkyaku uniform, a long and bloody slash in her torso, just under her breasts. It was a deep wound, but not a lethal one. The Fear armor and her now vanished Power Aura had absorbed most of what should have been a mortal blow.

She tried to take a step towards the Green Lantern, but slipped on her feet and fell backwards to the ground with a loud 'thud'.

"That technique was developed by a normal human, you know? Unlike me or you, a normal man with only normal skills managed to do something that's practically True Magic. Humanity is far much greater and amazing than what you think, Karasuba. I hope this had made you see that." the Magus turned towards her, slowly walking until he was standing just at her side, looming over the Sekirei.

_"Power Levels at 10%. That… what the hell?! You broke reality with just a freaking sword skill!"_ Shirou allowed himself a little smile at his rings absolute incredulity. _"What should have been a single slash broke the barrier of dimensions and became three…! Woah, this world and you are certainly more interesting than what I thought, Shirou…"_

"Stop…with the useless banter…" the red-head eyes turned once again at the downed Avatar of Fear, who was looking at him with hollow yellow eyes and a bitter smile. "You did it. You won. You prove me wrong and that you were right. Now do it. End this once and for all."

Everyone else's eyes widened, looking from Karasuba to Shirou, almost as if unsure of what would happen.

The only confused one was Chiho, who had never seen the Emiya fight before he became the Emerald Blade.

"…do you really want me to do that?" asked the Magus, eyes of steel as he looked at the fallen Sekirei. "After all that, you're just going to give up?"

"I lost. I did everything and more, went beyond my limits, threw away my whole self at this power, this Fear… and it still wasn't enough to beat you." she laughed bitterly, looking a Shirou as if she was seeing him for the first time. "And you know what? Now that I can think a little more clearly, I'm sure… that was the best battle of my life. I have no regrets…"

"…this is the only path." muttered Shirou, finishing Karasuba's phrase with a part of his old Aria, grimacing at reminding its meaning. But that too had changed, and being proved false. Then, he half-kneeled at her side, looking directly into her eyes. "There is always another path, Karasuba."

"You have more or less 10 seconds to kill me before Parallax breaks through your barrier and drowns this world in eternal Fear to recover his power." the grey-haired woman smiled fiercely at the sudden panic in everyone's faces, their eyes shooting upwards to see the emerald swords crumbling away like dust. "So, how it's going to be, Shirou?! C'mon, you know what you have to do! Finish…!"

The Green Lantern brought his hand down, stabbing the alien woman in the chest. Everyone gasped and a little cry of horror seemed to come from Chiho.

Karasuba smiled, looking at the eyes of the man who had defeated her, ready to, before dying, tell him that in the end, at least he had been unable to…

And then, she realized that what she had thought was a finishing blow had been just a little pinprick, as if from a needle. Her eyes fell upon the strange, twisted dagger with which Shirou had just scratched her.

"I told you. There is always another way. It took me a lot to realize it… but I did."

"Wha…?"

"Rule Breaker." intoned the Green Lantern while closing his eyes, all his remaining Artificial Circuits shattering from the pressure, the swords covering the city vanishing in a shower of emerald sparks…

But it was done.

Karasuba's eyes widened and her body jerked, her Sekirei wings once again flashing for a moment… before vanishing without a trace. The Avatar of Fear's eyes rolled backwards before closing, and she fell silent.

Everyone looked on with wide eyes. And then, they felt it.

**It** was disappearing…

**_"This ends NOW!"_** roared Parallax, a smile in his monstrous face as he fell the last of Ion's Will vanishing and the barrier collapsing. In a matter of seconds he would once again have access to the Fear of all living things upon this planet.

"Yes… you're right. It ends now." muttered a sweating and gasping Kusano, Musubi at her side looking a little worse… but why was the child smiling? "You lose, Parallax."

**_"What? Have you lost your mind, Avatar of the Proselyte?! You're practically out of energy and I'm about to recover all of mine! You're the ones who have lo…!"_** the Entity of Fear froze, his eyes widening when he felt something. The only thing that could have reached him in his maddened state.

His connection with Karasuba broke.

"I knew that he could do it." smiled the Gaia's Child while closing her eyes, Musubi looking wide-eyed how Parallax entire form seemed to be… collapsing upon itself, breaking into Yellow Light that dispersed in the air as if it had never been there… except for the central part, that was being 'pulled' in the direction where Shirou and Karasuba had gone off flying.

**_"No…nonononoNO!"_** Parallax screams of fury were ignored as his physical form kept breaking apart, the center of what made the consciousness of the Emotional Entity being 'sucked back' towards his fallen Avatar. **_"NOOO! AVATAR OF IOOOON!"_**

The aforementioned Magus and everyone else in the park looked up, surprised, seeing how what remained of Parallax head was flying directly towards them, twisting itself to become some abomination of jaws and claws.

It was aiming directly at Shirou, who was still at Karasuba's side.

The Green Lantern idly realized that he had barely enough force to stand up if he tried, and that the others were being too slow in trying to use their powers. The incoming remains of the Entity of Fear were faster.

_"Shirou, move!"_ futility screamed the Magus' Power Ring, knowing it was too late.

**_"I WILL TAKE YOUR LIFE BEFORE BEING SEALED AWAY, YOU STUPID HU…!"_**

A sword cut through the air with tremendous power and whatever else that Parallax wanted to say was brutally silenced when his remains were cut in two, dissolving into strands of yellow light that flowed upon all the presents before entering back into Karasuba's body.

_"Power Levels at 1%."_ announced the yellow ring with finality before the Sekirei's uniform disappeared in a yellow flash, leaving her in her old Disciplinary Squad clothes.

Shirou blinked, wondering how many times had done that today, and his eyes followed the trail of the attack until landing in a smiling Miya, who was lowering her katana as she casually dusted her clothes.

"Thanks for bringing my sword, Matsu." smiled the landlady at the RC helicopter-phone at her side, a certain battalion of mechanic spiders not far behind.

"Well, I knew it would come in handy under an emergency, heh, heh…" muttered the Wisdom Sekirei, getting some raised eyebrows from her strange laugh. "Ah, and I told you that I'm now 'Steel Gear' while we're in the field!"

_"…okay, its official, if I ever get connection with the Central Battery again, I WILL write this in a special section of the Book of Oa. This has to be, like, at least one of the Top 10 most awesome battles in where a Corps member had ever found himself!"_

The landlady laughed softly at the bespectacled woman's and the ring's antics, abstaining from making a Mother-Son joke, before turning at Shirou, a happy smile in her face.

"It looks like you made a really big mess, Emiya-kun." the First Sekirei chuckled again when the red-head scratched the back of his head. "But you did it."

"…ring, status report." muttered Shirou softly.

_"…You really did it, Shirou. There is a LOT of property and structural damage, and some minor injured from the last part of the battle, but thanks to everyone efforts and to Kuu-chan's Indigo Light… there are no causalities. The number of victims is zero." _there was a moment of silence while everyone present digested that, eyes widening and surprised looks being exchanged. _"You saved everyone."_

"… I did it." Shirou was almost unable to believe his own words while he let himself fall backwards in the scorched earth. He knew that it wouldn't always be like this, that sometimes, someone would die, that sometimes someone would not be able to be saved in time…

But even if he _knew_ it, that wouldn't stop him. He would still try, with all his might, like today. And, as a little, almost nonexistent, part of himself softly muttered, that would be enough as long as he and those at his side did all they could.

He wouldn't let his own ideal consume him while trying to achieve it, not anymore.

He was the Emerald Blade, Green Lantern of the Sector 2814, after all.

_"Oh, and by the way, Power Levels at 1_%." the ring's words were followed by the disappearance of the Magus' uniform, making him sigh with exhaustion. _"You may want to recharge me when we get back to the Inn."_

"I-is she…?" Chiho's soft and uncertain voice made everyone look at the young woman, Uzume embracing her as the young girl looked at Karasuba's prone form.

"She's only Terminated, Level 1." announced Shirou while raising the dagger in his hand, the bitter memories that it brought back passing briefly for his mind before letting it disperse and turning off his burning circuits, his body feeling relieved and REALLY tired. "I will explain that later, but for now we should…"

"Heeey, Shirou-samaaaa, everyoneeee!" all the heads in the destroyed park turned to look at the incoming Star Sapphire and Indigo Lantern, both of them bearing happy smiles in her faces, even if for once Musubi was who looked the more childish of the two with the expression.

"I knew you could do it, Onii-chan." voiced Kusano with a calm smile… before her eyes widened as she looked at something at Shirou's side.

"Ah, Shirou-sama, watch out!" Musubi's warning was full of surprise but, strangely, not of preoccupation.

The Ashikabi couldn't even begin to try to guess why before Karasuba jumped upon him, pinning his body at the ground.

"Ah!"

"Shirou!"

"Husband! Get away from him!"

"Release him, now!"

"Homura, wait, you will hurt him too!"

"You…" Shirou looked at the gasping and blushing Sekirei with panicking eyes, his mind finally realizing that he was out of Will and Prana and could do nothing to stop her if she decided to just break his neck. "…bastard…"

…wait a minute. Gasping and blu…?

No one knew how to react when Karasuba fiercely slammed her lips against Shirou's, her Sekirei wings and crest flaring mightily behind her, once again in their normal colors, as she deepened the kiss with almost hunger.

Perhaps because of all the shit that had happened that day or maybe because of how absurd the situation was, Shirou kissed back, everyone else still frozen with disbelief/horror/incredulity and, slowly, even some fury.

"What the fuck…?!" was finally able to shout Matsu, the first one in regain coherent thought, probably because she was just looking the scene from a camera.

"Forever… and ever…" weakly muttered Karasuba, some threats of saliva still joining her and Shirou's mouth before she fell at his side, no energy left in her body. After a couple of seconds of silence, she finally asked something. "Why…didn't you kill me?"

"That… would have been the easy choice." muttered the Magus almost automatically, his brain still unable to correctly process what had just happened. "You needed to be saved, so I saved you. There's nothing wrong with wanting to help people who need it."

"…you're really an idiot, you know?" Karasuba LAUGHED, a true and genuine laugh, making every Sekirei present, sans Kusano and Musubi, to cringe in horror as if it was the most horrible and unnatural thing they had ever heard. "And still, you're the one who won in the end…" she closed her eyes, her consciousness slipping away as she leaned on Shirou's side. "Maybe this won't be… so bad…"

"Yeah… if you say so…" finally, the mind and body of the Emiya seemed to arrive at the accord that, even for him, this was too much shit for a single day, and both of them shut down, letting him slip in then happy place called unconsciousness.

A deeeeep silence filled the destroyed park; most of the people present still frozen or gaping, unable to think or to accept what had happened.

"YAY! I knew Shirou-sama could show Karasuba-sama the true wonders of Love!"

"Truly, even with all the knowledge of the Tribe inside me, I can't find anything more amazing than my Onii-chan."

…well, almost everyone.

_"…okay, seriously, this guy here? He's going to become a LEGEND in the Corps!"_ summed the Power Ring with an exited voice that made it truly sound like a twelve year's old and not like the ultimate True Intelligence of the most advanced technological tool in the Universe_. "I mean, how many Lanterns can boast of ending a battle making out with their enemies?!"_

While the ring's absurd declaration managed to slowly reboot the brains of everyone present, no one noticed how, not so far away, behind some of the trees that had miraculously survived the battle, a certain Sekirei and Ashikabi pair was still looking at the scene wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

Then, Shiina finally seemed to recover and decided to drag his still frozen Ashikabi out of there, probably to a hospital. Maybe he was no doctor, but he was sure that no one should be as frozen as Yukari had been for so long.

Or had so many stars in her eyes, for that matter.

Meanwhile, in a Hill of Swords, that was strangely empty and no longer under an eternal dawn/twilight, two 'persons' where looking at each other, the kid with a happy smile on his face and the adult scowling at him.

'He did it. I told you he would.'

_'It was just a fluke, just a lucky couple of coincidences. He won't be able to keep like this forever.'_

'Aww, don't be a sore loser and accept that you were wrong, Ashura. Besides…' the Hero looked up, the Ashura's eyes widening as he did the same and an emerald glow started to shine and illuminate them and the entirety of the inner-world. 'Things are changing. And I think that they are going to keep doing it a lot in the future…'

The agreement roar of a giant shark-whale echoed upon the illuminated night.

* * *

In the vastness of space, the Blue Planet floated silently. This was the Earth.

Yet, this was not the same Earth from where Emiya Shirou and his companions were from, no.

This was a very different world. One without a consciousness (At least one like Gaia). One where a man could fly without magic or technology. One filled with wonderful and terrifying things, one where there were people who used their amazing gift in the open without fear, be it for the good of everyone… or for their evil ambitions.

But even with all the bad things, it was still a much better place than the Earth where Emiya Shirou lived.

This was a world where all the people was aware of its dangers and marvels, unlike the other one, where those with supernatural powers manipulated everything from the shadows and keep the normal people in the dark at any cost, mass murdering or manipulation their primary weapons if they deemed it necessary.

Here in this world, Good and Evil fought each other in the open. Oh, they surely were still secrets and lies, like in any normal world, but at least here you were more or less sure of what to expect of your life.

This was the Planet Earth that was the center of the Space Sector 2814 under the vigilance of the Guardians of Oa.

And upon this world, silently floating, a colossal satellite watched.

No. Calling it a satellite would have been an insult. This was a fortress, glorious and powerful, always silently watching upon the world.

This was the Watchtower, the heart of the Justice League.

And inside of it, in a especial room, a man with black hair, blue tights and a long red cape was standing, arms closed as he looked at the 'old man' in the operation bed before him.

In the chest of the man of the cape, there was symbol. Some sort of red 'S' inside a diamond.

This was the Man of Steel. Clark Kent. Kal-El of Krypton.

Superman.

But for some people, the unconscious man resting in the bed with his eyes closed would have been much more interesting.

For it was none other than Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Kaleidoscope himself.

"Let me get this straight. John told you he felt some sort of disturbance from the Antimatter Universe. You and Firestorm went there to investigate and your ring got some weird readings. And you found this man ALONE facing off against the Anti-Monitor?" there would have been more disbelief in the Kryptonian's words if he hadn't seen so many strange and impossible things in his life. "How?"

"I… don't know how to start explaining that, Clark. I made my ring record the last part, but I still can't understand what the hell all those things and multicolor portals he was using were…" muttered a man of brown hair, wearing the standard uniform of the Green Lantern Corps, useless mask and everything. "Firestorm distracted the Anti-Monitor long enough for me to get the guy after one of his annihilation beams knocked him out. Then, we got the hell out of there."

This was Hal Jordan, one of the four Green Lanterns of the Sector 2814. The original human Green Lantern.

"What I want to know is how he arrived there without anyone detecting him. Portals to the Antimatter Universe don't just open without anyone of the hundreds persons watching for these things noticing." voiced the final occupant of the room, a man in a dark hood-cape that reminded someone of some sort of demon, almost seeming to blend with the shadows. There was the vaguely recognizable form of a bat in his chest.

This was Bruce Wayne. The Batman. And believe me; you would prefer to take your chances running away from a Servant than from this guy. Especially at night.

"I don't know Bruce, the only thing we know is that he's not human, but we're not sure of WHAT is he. The analysis that John made before… 'Going out cold' managed only to determine that he's some sort of vampiric life-form. We probably will have to wait until he or the old man wake up for more answers." commented the Green Lantern, Superman grimacing at the reminder of what had happened to his friend when he had tried to read the mind of the unconscious old man.

He had never seen the Martian Manhunter looking so out of it before. He just hoped that John would wake up soon… and without any sequels.

"I don't know if we should let an unknown vampire with enough power to keep the Anti-Monitor at bay, even for a short time, simply wake up in the Watchtower." muttered Batman while looking at the sleeping Zelretch, all his danger-instincts telling him to put all the distance he could from the man in front of him.

"Then what do you suggest, Bruce? That we keep him sedated or something?"

"If it's necessary." Batman answered back, staring unflinchingly at the man who could fly at the heart of the Sun and come back unscratched.

Clark still feel uneasy knowing that he would end up losing the staring contest, like always.

"Ehm, guys? I have some news." both of them turned to look towards the startle Green Lantern, who almost jumped away when their intense stares were directed at him for a moment. "Uh, remember how I told you about that problem the Guardians had, a week back or so, in Oa?"

"You mean how someone managed to steal a Power Ring and Battery under their own noses?" commented Batman while looking at him.

"Ahm, yes, that. Well, look at this. Is the image they transferred to every Corps member of the guy who stole it." Hal raised his ring, projecting a tridimensional image upon it.

The smiling image of the unconscious old man in the bed behind them.

The three of them turned once again to look at Zelretch.

"…Hal, please contact with the Guardians and tell them that we have their thief. Bruce, can you go see if you can get any info of how this guy crossed half the universe without anyone noticing?" Superman didn't even need to turn around to know that Batman had left the room. "I will take that as a yes. I will go see if John has woken up and to bring someone to keep this guy sleeping. We have to know all that we can about him, and quick."

While the Superheroes exited the room, one of Zelretch eyebrows twitched, but, thankfully for the Justice League, the Ancestor didn't wake up.

Things would have turned REALLY bad if he did.

* * *

"Hmm, this tea is delicious. Thanks again, Mu-chan."

"Heh, no problem, Karasuba-sama! Besides, Shirou-sama is the one who made the tea, you should thank him instead!"

"Oh, yes, how rude of me." the Sekirei turned a smiling face at the red-head, who was sitting at the other side of the table. "Thanks for the tea, Shirou."

"You're… welcome." answered the Magus with a nervous smile, a bead of sweat falling from his forehead while he unsuccessfully tried to ignore the heaviness in the room.

Miya was unusually sitting at his side, sweetly smiling while a dark and heavy aura flowed from her, her stare totally fixed upon Karasuba, who simply looked back at her with a carefree smile.

The other occupants of the room were alternating between casting worried glances at Miya and suspicious/hostile ones at Karasuba. Except for the happy Musubi and the still indigo-clad and floating Kusano, who was smiling as she sipped her tea.

Shirou was sure he would never get used to that, but she had insisted in staying that way to give her explanation.

Well, he was just glad that the little girl had managed to convince Miya to not just abandon Karasuba in the park when they brought them back to the Inn while unconscious. He was still not sure of what exactly the Indigo Lantern had said to the landlady, but apparently hearing cold but smiley logic coming from a little girl had been enough for the first Sekirei to bring the Sinestro Corps member along. Very reluctantly, as the current situation showed.

What he still couldn't really believe was that Rule Breaker had turned Karasuba back to her pre-Winged state instead of Terminating her. Or that she would forcefully winged herself to him with what remained of her strength.

I mean, c'mon, what were the odds of something like that happening?

The other members of his… harem (Root, how he cringed when saying that) certainly hadn't taken the situation with too much enthusiasm. Except Musubi, of course.

"Miya-chan, don't you know it's rude to stare like that at your guests? And here I thought you were an exemplar landlady." taunted Karasuba while pouring herself more tea, making Shirou feel the urgent need to facepalm.

"Oh my, I can assure you I'm an excellent landlady, Karasuba. Everyone who DESERVES and needs help is always warmly welcomed in Izumo Inn."

"Oh, but I'm someone who fits that criteria, don't I?"

"You almost destroyed the entire world."

"Weren't you one who kept insisting that I wasn't myself?"

"Why, you…!"

"Please, can the two of you stop bickering? I'm supposed to be the child, and after all what I told you I thought you would be able to see that we can't get dragged into petty problems." everyone sweatdropped and looked a little disturbed at Kusano, like every time they had done during the last day when the little girl had said something like that.

Still, all that she had explained thanks to the Proselyte knowledge had been truly serious and bugged silently in Shirou's mind.

Someone manipulating everything from the shadows. Fake Emotional Entities. The rings being purposefully sent to this dimension. The Darkness.

It didn't help that neither Kusano nor his ring were able to tell him what exactly was this 'Darkness'. It looked that even the memory of the fake Proselyte had been suppressed just a little, and his ring couldn't find any information regarding something like that in his database, saying that he could probably find more if he could connect with the Central Battery in Oa.

Something that he obviously couldn't do. How fitting.

The Emiya really didn't want to get once again wrapped in the middle of some sort of game of powers, but he would do everything in his power to protect the world and those he cared about.

It was more than his duty or his ideal, after all. It was something he would do no matter what.

_"Well, I think we can at least wrap this part of our adventure as a happy ending, right?"_ asked the Power Ring, making everyone look at him with disbelief/amusement/confusion. _"C'mon! No one died, we stopped the lunatic and evil Entity of Fear from killing everyone in the planet and an old enemy is now an ally! Isn't that supposed to be a happy ending?"_

"You forgot to mention the insane quantity of property damage, but oh well, who really cares?" offhandedly commented Homura while sipping her tea, Tsukiumi shooting a worried glance at her ex-rival.

He had been TOO calm since the events in the park.

"Oh sweet Root, no… ring… have you been reading manga using the Internet?" asked Shirou at his ring with a horrified expression, making everyone sweatdrop.

_"And watching anime, yeah. Why_?" the Magus groaned and slammed his face with the table, confusing the ring even more.

"This hasn't ended. We still have to find the Avatars of Adara, the Butcher and Ophidian, and convince them to work together with us if we want to stop the Darkness. But your ring is right, Onii-chan, I think that, for now, we can call this a happy ending." Kusano smiled while slowly floating back to the ground, sitting in seiza at the table's side. "Now, there is only one more thing left to do."

"And what's that, Kuu-chan?" curiously asked Uzume, she and Chiho sitting just beside where the Indigo Lantern was.

"Why, to see if this 'change' is truly reversible, Uzume-nee." answered the little Sekirei before closing her eyes, a flash of indigo covered her, her staff and indigo tunic vanishing, leaving her in her normal dress. Finally, the strange tattoos in her body slowly disappeared, leaving a normal-looking Kusano sitting there.

The little Sekirei opened her eyes and blinked, looking around at everyone expectant gazes.

"Kuu-chan? You okay?" questioned Kazehana worriedly. What if Kusano stayed that way fore…?

"YAY! We did it, we saved everyone!" happily cried the blonde child before shooting to her feet and running to hug Shirou, surprising the Magus. "That was so cool, Onii-chan! It was scary, but at the same time it was not! Kuu knew a lot of weird things, and could hear a really funny song, and dance, and fly, and use a sword!" Kusano looked at her Ashikabi with stars in her eyes, and even Karasuba had to fight back the need to comment how cute she looked. "Was I a good superhero, Onii-chan?"

"…yes, Kuu, you were the best." answered the Green Lantern, feeling that all was right in the world as he hugged the little girl back. Maybe this truly could be called a happy ending.

"Ah. I want too." silently muttered Akitsu, sitting at Shirou's other side, looking at how her Ashikabi was hugging her 'little sister'.

"Ehm, Shirou-tan?" the uncertain and nervous tone of Matsu's voice made Shirou raise an eyebrow while he released Kusano, looking at the fidgeting Wisdom Sekirei. "I… don't want to be the one to bring bad news to this happy moment, but I think that there is something I really have to tell you…"

"Yatta! Did you heard, that, Prose-kun? I was a good superhero!" cheerfully interrupted the little Sekirei whatever that Matsu was going to say, looking towards her ring with a beaming smile.

**_"Yes, Kusano, you were. I'm happy for you."_** everyone in the room froze, their eyes shooting towards the unknown voice in time to see a tiny indigo-construct of a squid floating upon Kusano's ring, barely the size of a kitten. **_"And with marvelous people like these at your side, I'm sure that we will be able to… ehm."_** the Proselyte looked around, finally realizing that everyone was looking at him**_. "Wait a minute… are you hearing me?"_**

"And… seeing you." vaguely muttered Miya, pointing around the little squid, who blinked and looked around, as if just realizing his manifestation.

**_"Kusano… how did you projected my consciousness through your ring?"_** asked the incredulous chibi-Entity of Compassion.

"I just… wanted everyone to hear you?" muttered the little girl with uncertainty, tilting her head cutely to the side.

"Woah, that's cool, I want to prove it too!" cried Musubi with a smile before raising her ring, violet light coming out of it before anyone could stop her. "Say hi, Predator-chan!"

**_"Well, this is certainly surprising."_** commented the scary-looking mini-insect, a creature that seemed more fitting to be a nightmare's monster than the Entity of Love that it was. **_"Greetings to everyone, loved ones of my child. I hope that the Love in all of your hearts blossom into something beautiful."_**

Everyone stared wide-eyed from one Entity to the other, before Karasuba smiled sinisterly and too raised her ring, the image of a certain mini-yellow parasite being forced to appear upon it.

"Hey, don't you want to say something too?" sweetly asked Karasuba with a smile that didn't fool anyone.

**_"…you can all go to hell."_** growled Parallax while hatefully looking at everyone present.

They weren't even fazed. Yeah, the thing had tried to kill them and everything, but it was really hard to keep being wary of something that was barely bigger than your hand.

"Oww, how cute." laughed Karasuba while petting the chibi-Entity and, if it wasn't because it was impossible for a being made of pure yellow to do it, Shirou would have sword that Parallax blushed. "Now get back there before I smash you for trying to screw with my mind."

And with that said, she smashed the little Entity with her hands before he could say anything, letting it disperse into Yellow Light.

That little part of Shirou that was able to forgive almost anything wondered if that had hurt Parallax. Another part of him hoped that, if it had, it had hurt a lot.

"Good, now that the pseudo alien-gods in miniature had finished talking, can we please eat dinner?" asked Homura with a smile, making everyone look at him in silence.

"Ah. Homura is being strange again. Are you okay?" resumed Akitsu what everyone was thinking.

"No, it's just that I have decided that I won't let anything of the craziness that happens around us thanks to Shirou to affect me ever again. See?! If I don't care, it doesn't really affect my life!"

"…ehm, what were you going to say, Matsu?" asked Shirou, really wanting to ignore the perturbing sight of Homura's cheerful smile, silently swearing that he would try to seriously find psychological help for the Fire User.

She seemed to urgently need it.

"Oh, yeah! Well…"

_"Warning, Spike in the Emotional Spectrum detected!"_ suddenly announced the four rings present, making everyone look around with confusion/panic and the eyes of those who understood what that meant to widen.

Matsu just sighed in relief, telling herself that communicating to Shirou that his family probably knew about his secret identity could wait.

"Are you serious?! Now?!" shouted Shirou while standing up, a quick list of weapons to Trace passing his mind, briefly noticing how Karasuba's hand shot to her side, only to remember that her katana wasn't there. Miya had put it away somewhere.

His ring was recharged, but he was still exhausted and his Od hadn't replenished itself. Even if he tried again his trick of Artificial Circuits, he would still need a little of his own Prana to do it, and his Circuits were still recovering from all the strain of the day and…!

_"Source: Rage… and Hope?! The hell?! What are two users doing together, especially users of those two different Corps?!" _his ring's advice didn't reassure Shirou in the slightest. Two ring-users together? Maybe there was part of some group that had come to try and get the rest of the rings for…? _"And they are… right here?"_

Before Shirou or anyone could ask what he meant by that, the sound of something crashing in the street resounded. And then, the sound of something slowly landing.

"Are you okay?"

"Ugh… yes, just a little dizzy. Stupid ring! Are you sure this is the place?"

_"Affirmative. The signal of Will from the Green Lantern comes straight from this building."_

Every thought process in Shirou's mind froze, his body suffering the same destiny.

He knew those voices. He knew them better than anyone. But no, it couldn't be, it was impossible. Not even the Root could be that twisted to allow…

"It seems that a fierce battle occurred here. Most of the city's center is devastated, but strangely, there were practically no ambulances. And there are a lot of strange machines and vehicles littering the streets like fallen soldiers."

"Dammit, we should have gotten here sooner!"

"You were the one who insisted into having a 'little race' in space."

"He-hey! You can't blame me!" even if she still was outside, Shirou's mind could perfectly recreate the image of the huffing girl looking at her side with a blush in her face and an 'angry' expression. "How was I supposed to know that we could fly almost to the other side of the Solar System so quick?!"

"You should have realized it when we passed Jupiter."

"…well, you have to admit that the views from Mars were great."

"Yes. Some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Now, shall we go inside and see if Shirou is truly here?"

"Yes, yes, let's just go… Izumo Inn? Well, looking from here I can guess why he would like to be here, he always preferred to live in a Traditional Japanese place."

The sound of the Inn's door being knocked managed to bring Shirou out of his trance, sweat started to fill his forehead. He idly noticed how everyone was looking from the hallway that leaded at the principal door to him.

It seemed like those two had been talking loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Ah! I will go!" happily declared Musubi, and she was already in the hallway before anyone could stop her. The sound of the door being opened sounded like a guillotine falling in Shirou's ears. "Hi! Can I help you?"

"…Saber, are you seeing the same thing I'm seeing?"

"…yes, Rin, I noticed. She has one of those rings too. And she's not human."

"Uh? What…? Oh, ehm, I mean, yes! What else could I have been talking about?!"

"…I will abstain from answering that question."

"Rin? Saber? Hey, Musubi has heard those names before!" happily echoed the Love Sekirei's voice, making the eyes of those who still hadn't understood the situation to widen. "You're Shirou-sama's girlfriends!"

"…did you just say 'Shirou-sama'?" Rin's voice sounded as sharp as a blade and colder than the deepest part of the Antarctic.

A new little part of Shirou started to wish to be fighting against Parallax again.

"Yes! He will be so happy to see you…! And look, you two have rings too! Say hi, Predator-chan!"

**_"Hello Adara… hello Butcher, coughjerkcough. Oh, and hello to you too, Avatars. Your Love looks a little opaque, but beautiful." _**

"Wha…? How did you…?"

"…Rin, let me try it out. Adara?"

**_"…well, I'm ashamed I didn't think of this before. Thanks, Arthuria." _**the voice of the Emotional Entity turned a little more solemn then.**_ "Hello, Predator, is good to see you. Your avatar looks like a… lovely person."_**

"Woah! A bird with three faces, how cool!"

"…ARGH! Okay, I will let you out too! If only so you would screw with someone else instead of only me!" was Rin's angry shout before the sound of another projection was heard.

**_"Hah! The mighty Butcher is here! Everybody, kneel before the Rage!"_**

**_"I see that you're as stupid as ever, Butcher."_**

**_"YOU! Predator! Prepare to die! Go, my Avatar, crush that stupid bug's Avatar! I'm sure you're stronger than her, even if her breasts are much bigger than yo…!"_**

SMASH!

"Please, can we come in now?" sounded Rin's extremely sweet voice.

"Oh, okay. But, did you have to smash the little bull so harshly? It looked like it hurt him." Musubi's voice started to sound closer and closer as the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway.

"Oh, it hurt him, believe me, I can hear him. And if he knows what's good, then he's not going to…" the black haired girl's voice died down, her body freezing as she got a view of the people in the living room.

More precisely, of how there were a total of 9 girls (8 women and a little girl), 10 when you counted Musubi, sitting around a table and looking at her and her blonde companion, who was too staring at the girls there with surprise.

Then, their eyes fell upon the only person they knew in the room, who was also, apparently, the only male in the Inn.

"…Hi Rin. Hi Saber." weakly muttered Shirou while raising a hand, not quite knowing what else to say that wouldn't made the situation even worse. "…this is not what it looks like."

Oh, wait. That just now had made it worse. Good job, Shirou's brain.

_"…what are the odds that the Avatars of the Butcher and Adara are also people that knows you AND girls?"_ helpfully commented the Power Ring, making Rin's eyes fell upon it for a moment before quickly scan the room and take notice of the ones in Karasuba's and Kusano's hands. _"Seriously, do you have some sort of secret superpower that you haven't told me about, Shirou?"_

While the Magus was convincing himself that launching his ring to the ground and start smashing it would not help him in any way in this situation, Chiho's unexpected voice cut through the tension-filled air.

"Ehm…who are they, Shirou-san?" commented the awkward-looking Ashikabi, Uzume apparently unable to decide if to find the situation worrying or amusing as she embraced her.

Okay, it was official now. He really would have preferred to still be fighting with Parallax.

* * *

There are many twisted and horrible places in this darkened world.

One of them was, without a doubt, the basement of the Matou manor, in Fuyuki City.

No one could ever imagine the inhuman and immoral atrocities that had occurred between these dark and sinister walls.

In that moment, a horrible but perfectly normal (For the monster causing it) view could be appreciated here.

The naked body of a beautiful purple haired girl with hollow eyes, being horribly violated by hundreds of worms.

This girl was Matou Sakura. Someone who had lost any will to live many years ago.

The lone figure of a hunched and sinister old man watched the horrifying scene from the stone stairs, with indifference and even a little frustration.

This man… no, this monster, was Matou Zouken. The patriarch of the Matou family. An horrible and rotten soul that had keep himself alive for more than 500 years, preying upon other humans and using his horrible and twisted Worm-Familiars to maintain his decaying body with only one purpose.

To win the Holy Grail and obtain immortality.

So consumed was he by this wish that he not only had done horrible things to countless people for it, but he no longer even remembered WHY he wanted it.

The last, and arguably the worst, of his dark and twisted deeds was what he had done to the girl before him.

Since she was a little girl and had been adopted in the family, he had subjected her to the most horrible 'training' of the Matou Magecraft, hoping to turn her not into an heir, but into a tool that he would use to win the Grail War.

But all of that had been pointless. All of it.

The Grail was gone, the system dismantled and the Wish-Granting device lost forever. All because of those thrice dammed Emiya and Tohsaka.

If it wasn't for the fact that doing so would have brought the Association or that Servant that they somehow had managed to keep in this world upon him, he would have killed them while they sleep.

Certainly, now there shouldn't be any reason to keep doing this to Sakura. Except for one thing.

The dark, evil and dying thing that now resided inside of her.

Since the moment he had implanted the broken remains of the incomplete and corrupted Grail from the 4th war, a connection between Sakura and the evil spirit that had existed inside the Greater Grail had been formed. Tiny and almost unnoticeable. If the circumstances would have been right, he would have taken advantage of it to use Sakura as a weapon during the 5th war.

Alas, the opportunity hadn't presented itself, and in the end, when the Grail had been dismantled and he had been about to just damn everything and kill every association Magus in the city before they could leave, something 'Miraculous' had happened.

The spirit, seeing his vessel being destroyed, had escaped. It had run away, through the only thing he could use for it.

Sakura.

Oh, certainly it couldn't totally escape. Almost all of the power, all the Evil that it once was, had been lost with the Grail. Just barely a fraction, enough for keeping part of its mind and existence, had managed to take refuge inside of Sakura, surprising even him.

It shouldn't have been possible for something like that to happen. Yet, Zouken had underestimated one thing about the being that once was the Greater Grail.

It had a wish. More exactly, it was a wish incarnated; having turned into what it once was after the Third War.

To be born into this world… bringing its damnation with it.

And it had been his wish to be born, his wish to keep living, which had allowed him to use the Grail fragments into the girl's body to maintain its now pathetic existence, even after the demise of the Greater Grail.

And so, Zouken had done all in his power to keep the evil spirit alive, feeding it Prana through his worms and Sakura's body, in a mad quest to see if he could still use the girl to turn her into a new vessel to use the spirit's remaining power, to see if he could use it to grant his wish.

It had been an obviously futile and mad errant since the beginning, but the desperate Zouken hadn't cared, for it was all which he still had.

If had been for nothing, of course. Even if the Prana keep it alive, the spirit was dying since the moment it entered Sakura's body. The Prana and his wish to live had been the only thing that had keep him alive during so many years, but it had only delayed the inevitable.

It wouldn't last past this night. The spirit of the Avenger was finally going to vanish.

And the girl for which the monster didn't cared?

Well, Sakura certainly **didn't care**. For her, her life had ended long ago.

After her third year of High School, more precisely, when SHE had took away the only good thing in her life.

When her _sister_ had taken away her beloved Sempai. Shirou…

At the beginning, she had been content with just being by his side. Every day seeing his smiling face, every moment cooking with him, every conversation while eating together…

Those had been the only happy moments in her life, the only light in the otherwise dark nightmare that was her existence. She knew that he would never return her feelings, of course, for how could he ever love something as tainted as her? But she had been happy just by being by her side. Nothing more.

Then, the 5th Holy Grail War came. And everything started to crumble away.

The only positive thing that had come from the nightmare that was the last Heaven's Feel was that Shinji had changed for good and he no longer treated her like trash. Whatever it was that had happened to him that night in the Ryudo Temple had been traumatic enough to make him understand how a horrible human being he was and start treating her like a true sister.

Even if her adoptive brother couldn't (And wouldn't dare) to do anything against their grandfather, she had welcomed the change, thinking it was a sign that things were going to change for the better.

How wrong she was.

She had seen it during the War, of course, but she had never commented about it. She had seen how close _she_ and her sempai were becoming, how they seemed to share something that not even she, after so much time by his side, had with him. But she had just kept smiling, content with being by Shirou's side. She wanted nothing more.

It had still felt as if someone had ripped her heart out with a dagger when she had seen them kissing the day of their graduation, even if they thought that no one was watching.

Her life had ended that day when she took him away. She, her Servant (Which was originally his) and Shirou had gone away to never return.

She had maintained the smile on her face all the way until she got back 'home' that day, because she knew that she would never smile again.

She didn't care what her 'grandfather' kept doing to her. She was just a hollow shell now.

The only thing that she ever wanted was gone. She would never have him. Her life had no meaning.

The only thing that had really keep her alive these last years had been, ironically, the twisted spirit that shared her body, because it knew that its life would end the same moment as hers.

And the opposite was also true. She didn't had anything left. She would die tonight, at the same time when the spirit vanished. She had already decided it. Her hollow existence had no reason to keep going.

In a twisted sense, she almost felt pity and understanding for the thing inside of her. He too had lost all that give him meaning, all that made his existence, and the only thing he really wanted had been negated to him too. And it was also so much simpler than her wish.

To live.

In these lasts moments, she couldn't help but wonder, what would have happened if she had tried? How would things have turned out if she had ever tried to take what she really wanted instead of holding back her desires all her life?

She wanted to see Shirou once again…

_'It' wanted to be born…_

She wanted him to embrace her and tell her that he loved her as much as she did…

_'It' wanted to live…!_

She wanted to take him in her arms and never let go, never to allow anyone to take him from her side!

_'It' wanted to fulfill its purpose…!_

She/_it_ WANTED…!

A sickly orange light cut through the darkness of the basement, making Zouken cry out and cover his eyes, all the worms suddenly frozen in place, like little pathetic beings in front of their natural predator.

The broken girl and the dying spirit looked up through the same pair of eyes, the shining visage of an orange ring greeting them.

_"Tohsaka Sakura of the Earth…"_ the mention of THAT name, a name that no one except the monster in the room and _she_ should know was what made the girl's arm move, raising from the sea of paralyzed worms to let the ring put itself in her finger. _"You want_ _it_ **All.**_"_

A roaring orange shine surged from the girl, making the worms squirm and try to get away from her as quickly as they could. Zouken, confused, tried to regain the control of his familiars, wondering what in hell's name was happening…

And then a strange, orange lantern fell from a hole in the air, crushing some worms as it landed at the girl's side.

Words came from her mouth. Words that had just entered her mind and gave her_ something_… Words that she wasn't pronouncing alone.

_This Power is Mine, this is my Light._

_Be it in Bright of Day, or Black of Night._

_I lay claim to All that falls within my Sight._

_To take what I Want…That is My Right!_

Orange light exploded furiously in all directions, almost as if a living thing, covering the entire basement.

It was hungry. And it wanted to _feed_.

_"Power Levels at 100000%."_ a mechanical voice announced, a number that would have terrorized anyone who knew the word's meaning.

Zouken froze when he felt IT. The light wasn't just covering his worms. It was **eating** them.

Consuming every one of them in seconds, there was no place, no dark corner, not enough speed, nothing that could save them from the hungry Light.

A dawning sensation of doom filled his being when he felt that it was also eating the worms inside of Sakura's body.

Including the one at her heart's side. The one who contained his soul.

Thanks to his monstrous and twisted nature, in his last, horribly painful and agonizing moments; Matou Zouken had one of the most sinister and strange privileges of the entire Multiverse.

Hear the announcement of his own demise.

_"Makiri Zolgen of the Earth… You belong to Agent Orange."_

One last scream later, and the basement fell totally silent, looking as if it had never been anything alive there to begin with.

The only being still in the room was the floating woman in the center of it, her eyes closed as her long WHITE hair flowed being her, an orange Power Aura enveloping her body.

A strange attire covered her form, some sort of long full-body dress that hugged her body so tightly it was almost obscene, black and orange interlacing in vertical lines. Her feet were covered from sight by the… 'lower part' of her 'dress', which looked almost as if alive, almost as if black and orange liquid was flowing down from her body and forming undulating waves. The symbol of Avarice, of the Corps of only one living member, proudly shined in her chest.

Her eyes opened. They were RED.

A smile so twisted, so wrong that it would make anyone to cringe in horror, appeared in her face.

She felt powerful. She felt great. And she felt hungry. A never-ending hunger, a _need_ of making everything hers, of taking all for her and no one else.

She pushed it aside, at the bottom of her being, with almost no effort. All of that could wait. Now, there was only ONE thing that she really Wanted.

"Sempai…" madly giggled the creature in which Matou Sakura had become before shooting upwards.

Matou Shinji was just returning home from an errant before the entirety of his house brutally exploded in front of him. The last thing he would remember before falling unconscious, and later waking up in a hospital, was an orange blur flying quickly towards the sky.

Unknown to the girl that flew through the air inside an orange shine, inside of her, in her soul, a giant orange snake lay silent.

The Emotional Entity known as Ophidian, Incarnation of Avarice and the Orange Light of the Emotional Spectrum, couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't communicate with her Avatar, and could barely think.

And it was all because of that horrible black… mud that was flowing around her body, twisting maliciously as it feed from her energy, chaining her weakened form and using her as a battery.

And just upon his head, the figure of a man could be seen. His hair as black as the mud that chained the snake down, strange black symbols etched upon his body.

This was no man, of course. Not anymore, at least. This thing was EVIL., the body being just an echo of a long-lost life.

He opened his eyes, smiling evilly, the symbol of Avarice shining in them as he looked sinisterly at the orange ring in HIS hand.

Life felt so good…

And he would have ALL OF IT.

* * *

**Season 1: Lights of Emotion upon a Darkened World.-END**

* * *

**Next:**

**Season 2: Forgotten Lights, Evil Shine.**

* * *

Aaand… that's it. It's finally over. Buf, sorry for the delay with this chapter, but I needed A LOT of research, inspiration, and surpassing a couple of writer blocks to finish it, I hope that the size it has is enough to make up for it.

Well, what do you think about that last part? I'm sure some of you were expecting it, but not ALL of what I had planned XP

Now, things are going to get really crazy and difficult for Shirou in the next season. Now the world knows about the rings, and the higher ups aren't going to just sit around and let him be a hero. Especially after he killed with all the honors any secrecy that the supernatural still had after this last chapter O,O And, as if that wasn't enough, the last Light is coming for him. Literally.

It's done. The Seven Lights are shining, illuminating this shadowed World. But as the title of next season says, one of them brings an Evil shine, and is the worst possible one. Expect that some things turn darker in what is to come…

Oh, BTW, Sakura's oath is not original from DC, but it's not mine either. You see, there is no real oath for the Orange Lantern Corps, the most similar thing being Larfleeze shouting a lot of 'Mine!' repeatedly, but I found that one in the internet and decided to used because it sounded cool OxO

Also, Zelretch is alive! That's…good? Who knows, but he's not in the best of situations, unconscious and at the mercy of the Justice League. That's…bad? (Don't worry those who don't know much about it, I will try to not make more direct reference to the DC universe unless is absolutely necessary.) What will happen with our beloved Kaleidoscope?

And lastly, the last scene in the Inn. Well, things are going to escalate, don't you think? In In Flight, when this scene occurred, Uzume and Chiho weren't there anymore, nor were there 6 people in possession of the arguably most dangerous items in the entire world. So yeah, let's hope that Shirou survives and that things don't turn out like they did in GB-sama original story.

Finally, I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to continue with my weekly update. First, I will take a break from writing for the season's end and then I'm going back to classes in September, so my update rate will slow down considerably, but don't worry, I won't abandon this story, especially not now that it's just starting to reach the most interesting parts of the plot. You would never guess some of the things I have planned, heh, heh, heh…

Also, especial thanks to the series Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya for the inspiration it gave me for this chapter. Ig-Alima and Sul-Sagasa are not inventions of mine; they truly are part of Gilgamesh Gate of Babylon in the Nasuverse =D! The real difficult par was find some consistent background of them XP If you want to see them more clearly, google one of them and click upon the section of the Type-Moon Wiki for the Gilgamesh of the Prisma Illya-verse, or just read the manga and watch the anime, it's really funny and has a couple of awesome fights!

Ok, that's all for now, my beloved readers. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and the 1st season in general, we will see each other again in the next season of this craziness of mine, leave me reviews so that I can know your opinions! Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!

…or, that would I say if it wasn't because I still have a little last gift! A little teaser of a couple of scenes from the next season, yeah!

* * *

**Warning, the following scenes are spoilers for the future and not all of them are completely planned, so some of them can change a little from here until the actual writing:**

**Soon, in the Emerald Blade…**

"The church said that they will be neutral with this. After seeing what happened last time, they're not going to risk angering one of these 'Ring-Bearers'."

"To hell with those cowards, I don't want excuses! Those rings are a menace for us and everyone in this planet. I want them sealed away in the deepest part of Atlas and their users dead, no matter what it takes. I'm clear?"

"…yes, my Queen."

* * *

"What do you mean all of them 'disappeared'? All those Sekirei don't just vanish without a trace!"

"It's the truth, sir. By the time we arrived… there were signs of a fight, but there was also a sense of…hollowness." Natsuo looked at Minaka with a haunted expression in his eyes, Benitsubasa and Haihane looking worriedly at him. "As if something had… devoured the life out of the air…"

* * *

"You're surrounded and outnumbered! Drop the ring and surrender, girl!" ordered the Enforcer, looking at the strangely clothed white haired woman a couple of meters in front of him, he and his entire squad covering all the angles.

"Outnumbered? Heh, heh…" a mad glint shined in the girl's eyes as she looked at the man, as if amused of a private joke. "No sir, you're wrong… you're the ones who are outnumbered."

Before the man was able to ask what she meant by that, the sound of screams from his companions made him look around and realize how they were surrounded by a lot of orange-clad figures, all of them having the same ring as the girl…

And all of them looking almost transparent, their faces emotionless as if they were just ghosts.

The Enforcer turned his gaze back to the smiling girl just in time to see a decrepit old man in orange robes floating in front of him, smiling evilly as he pointed at him with his ring and his body became a mass of orange worms that fell hungrily upon him.

And all the while, the girl kept giggling.

* * *

An unnatural silence filled the air, almost as if all the living things upon Gaia were containing their breaths, as if expecting the next words of the cursed tool.

For they would mark the end of everything.

"…**Rise.**"

The makeshift tomb exploded from the inside out…

And an abomination whose sole existence was a crime against all the laws that ruled the universe rose from it.

The abomination stared blankly ahead before, slowly, turning its eyes to look at its half-rotten hands… and the black ring shining in one of them.

Then, it screamed.

* * *

Woah… I feel so troll for doing that just now =D Bye!


	15. Chapter 14: Lights from the Past

Tantantan…! Hello once again, my dear readers, I'm back! My extra exams are over and before starting my new School Year I figured it would be a good idea to start once again with this, so welcome back everyone to the craziness called The Emerald Blade!

Wow, a lot has surely happened around here, uh? The last chapter of Season 1 was a total success, I almost couldn't believe it but this story has surpassed the 200 reviews mark and has already more than 40000 views! Thanks to everyone who reads, those who leave a review and those who don't equally, its thanks to you that I have the motivation to keep going =D

Well, a lot of questions have been raised thanks to the last chapter, and most of them can't be answered without giving important spoilers, but I will do what I can XP First, some have pointed how Ion has practically said nothing during the story so far. Do you honestly think that I would not notice something like that? It was on purpose, obviously, and the reason will be explained in this season, fear not, it's all part of the plot.

Also, I know that some have reminded me of certain things about the little 'spoilers' that I gave at the end of the past season, so let me remind you that, as I wrote at the top of them, most of those scene's details aren't completely planned, and some things will obviously be corrected and adapted to be more 'realistic' by Nasuverse standards as much as possible when they are finally truly completed. In fact, why don't you go back and read them once again? If you do it carefully while trying to deduce how they will go maybe you can find some extra spoiler…

Oh, and some people are also wondering what's going to happen with certain characters, their reactions to certain things and their relationships, but rest assured, I will try to go to it as fast as I can O,O

Ok, that's it for now, sorry for those who wanted more of their questions answered, but I can assure you that I'm not ignoring you all, my readers, is because explaining certain things would generate serious spoilers, and nobody really wants that, right?

So, without more useless banter from this author, welcome back once again, to the Emerald Blade!

* * *

_A world with Light isn't necessary a better world._

_That depends on those who live under Good and Evil._

_Good and Evil. Concepts made by the minds of all intelligent living beings in Creation, and never the same for one or another._

_Good can be Evil for some. Evil will be Good for others._

_But Light… Light isn't good nor evil._

_Those who use it are._

_But… no matter the concept or side that you take, Emerald Warrior, for the Seventh Light…_

_Comes with an Evil shine._

**Season 2: Forgotten Lights, Evil Shine.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Lights from the Past-Searching for the Future** or _"The only enemy that Emiya Shirou can't beat: The women in his life."_

Night was slowly falling upon Shin Tokyo, the end of the most strange and traumatic day that the city had suffered (Even worse than that time with the meteor) finally coming, and the inhabitants of the capital city were all feeling relieved, not only of surviving but also for the fact that no one had suffered the loss of a loved one or a friend.

It was also starting to slowly dawn upon most of them the full implications of what had happened.

Giant monsters with evil powers. Superheroes bringing forth awesome abilities to combat that and to protect them. It all seemed like the plot of some cliché movie or anime.

But it had been real.

They had seen it, heard it, and suffered it; all in first row.

And they were commenting it, discussing it. Some were terrified, some were excited, and some didn't even know what to make of it all.

But there was one thing that all of them had in common:

They were grateful. They sincerely thanked those who had saved them, putting their lives on the line for their sake. There was no other form to say it, not when hundreds of people have seen the brutal and unreal battle first hand, not when most have been carried out of danger by impossible hybrid machines piloting themselves while a voice reassured them that they were going to be okay and definitively not when some of them have been saved from certain death by a construct of solid light that earned their creators a free hit from the yellow abomination.

They had received hits that could destroy buildings with no effort for them. They had fought the impossible for them. And they had won.

They had endured and won. Those who wielded the Light in different colors.

The people didn't know their names, obviously, and they still hadn't come to a popular accord about how to call the violet and indigo warriors or the strange element-using girls. But they knew how to call two of them.

The first was Steel Gear, controller of machines, commander of the strange mechanical hybrids that had putted out of danger and saved most of the population.

And the other was who she had called herself the associate of. The hero who was at the front when the chaos started, the warrior who had fought fiercely against the yellow parasite and protected their minds from its horrible powers with a barrier of shining swords, he who had gone off to fight against the one who had summoned the monster and he who most of them were sure, be it for pure belief or speculation, had stopped everything.

The Emerald Blade.

And while news about the great exploits of the warrior and his companions started to be exaggerated and spread, images of the impossible battle expanding through the world, coinciding with some receiving the news of how other two people wielding light in other two colors have been seen in the other side of the planet… the world started to change.

Secrets were going to be revealed, errors would be committed, things that should have never seen the light would be forced out of the shadows by their own will…

Things would never be the same.

Be it for good…or bad.

* * *

Izumo Inn could, arguably, be called one of the most 'peaceful' and happy places in all of Shin Tokyo, no matter the time or situation, except in incredibly rare exceptions.

The thick, scary and REALLY uncomfortable atmosphere that surrounded the living room of the house was a clearly sign that this was the mother of all exceptions.

And all of it was centered on the two newcomers, which were sitting side by side at one end of the table, one looking like the perfect example of knightly manners as she silently sipped her tea, the other trying to imitate a similar pose and calmness while doing the same.

Sadly, the twitch of her eyebrows and the occasional angry flashes of red light that came from the ring embedded in her right hand totally ruined that, and also put the original occupants of the inn over the edge of nervousness.

"Do you like the tea that much, Rin-san? You're making a really funny expression!"

"Saber-nee, Saber-nee! Can I see Adara-kun again, please? I really like the difficult things he says, it's really funny!"

Well, most of them, at least.

"Ehm, ye-yeah, no problem, Kuu-chan…" answered Saber while stuttering and losing her cool for a second. Really, if the King of Knights had any weaknesses, then it were without a doubt the cute, little things.

And Kusano ranked pretty high in the list of said things.

**_"Sigh, I'm truly sorry for this, Adara. My Avatar is a good person, but…"_**

**_"No need to apologize, brother, I can see it pretty well."_** interrupted the miniature three-faced bird once it has been projected from the ring, turning to regard the little Sekirei looking intently at him. **_"You should feel honored, Proselyte. Is not often that one of us gets an Avatar that has such a pure presence of the Light inside of her. I truly think that this is a marvelous miracle, especially after hearing what has transpired here today. May the Spectrum bless you, little one."_**

"Yay, I love how he says those funny things!" happily laughed Kusano, oblivious of the tension-filled atmosphere surrounding everyone else.

Well, except Musubi, who kept talking to Rin and being ignored, and Chiho. The latter because she was still in a…'shocked state' after some of the things that had been talked during the evening.

Most precisely, the part about Shirou having two 'normal' girlfriends before all this mess with the Sekirei began. Yeah, that's right; the girl can take up being in ground zero of a fight between a Magus and an alien with super-rings but this leaves her in shock. Go figure.

"…Rin?" finally dared to ask the only Green Lantern of this universe, wondering if it was just coincidence that his ex-girlfriends had decided to sit at the exact opposite side of the table from him.

"…so, let me get this straight." muttered the Tohsaka heir while putting down her tea, startling Musubi, who was still having a one-sided conversation with her. "You tried returning to Japan to keep a low profile, but then by some twisted joke of Fate you end up finding your long-lost family, your mother and sister, and decide to stay here. Then, it turns out that this city is housing some sort of secret tournament between aliens that look exactly like humans and are capable of manipulating Prana in different forms, tournament in which your mother is actively involved with and in which your sister later gets involved too. You, obviously, end up directly involved and 'bond'…" Shirou nervously took notice of how her grip in her teacup became unnecessarily tighter at mentioning this. "…with no less than 6 of said aliens and end up living in the Inn of another one, where even other one lives. Am I correct until now?"

"Ehm…yeah, more or less, only a little order error..." awkwardly commented Uzume, seeing as no one seemed to be about to answer that.

Her attempt to try and disperse the tense atmosphere was not successful, if the look in Rin's eyes was anything to go by.

"…thanks." tersely answered the Japanese Magus, and Shirou was relieved that she at least was trying to be comprehensible. Until she turned back to look at him and for a second he thought he could see burning crimson flames in her eyes, making him gulp. "But obviously, you DON'T realize that you are essentially MARRYING with multiple alien women until later on, and then you're forced to reveal everything about Magecraft to them after a freaking Fraga comes and almost kills you." Shirou hesitated a second before nodding, and this time he was sure he could see something burning in Rin's eyes as she started to mumble. "….of all the stupid, idiots, brainless, inconsiderate…!"

"Ehem." Miya's voice cut through the air, interrupting the girl and making her shot a heated glare in her direction, at which the landlady answered with one of her trademark smiles. "Forgive me, Tohsaka-san, but you should watch your language in front of children." she pointed to Kusano, who was still engrossed in hearing the Incarnation of Hope talking, and an awkward-looking Saber, who was doing her best to try and look dignified while projecting the bird to entertain the adorable little girl.

She was failing miserably, by the way.

"…sorry, Asama-san." silently answered the black-haired girl, begrudgingly accepting her mistake before letting out a looooong sigh and once again looking at Shirou. "And then, the alien super-ring appeared in front of you while dinning."

"…yes." muttered Shirou while scratching the back of his head.

"A ring from another dimension, principal recruitment tool of some sort of alien-police. And it named you a Green Lantern, someone with the obligation and power to protect 1/3600 part of the entire universe. And you accepted."

_"Well, Shirou was very reluctant to even believe in me at first, but after some things I can proudly say that he's a great addition to the Corps!" _happily commented said Power Ring once Rin finished with her summary of everything that they had explained to her and Saber during the evening.

"You know, the little guy is very cheerful, even in a situation like this. It kind of reminds me a little of you, Matsu." offhandedly commented Karasuba, who has been silently watching the interaction between the blonde knight and Kusano. She raised a confused eyebrow when the bespectacled Sekirei seemed to choke in her tea at het statement, and at how Shirou seemed to grow a little more uncomfortable. "Am I missing something?"

"Probable not more than me." growled Rin while putting her head in her hands for a second before looking directly at the red-head, a myriad of emotions passing through her face while her ring shined dangerously, everyone tensing in preparation for… "…You're an idiot."

"UH?" was the general answer to that statement, coming not only from Shirou but from some of the Sekirei too.

"You're an idiot. I just thought of a thousand different horrible things to say or do to you, and after realizing that with this ring in my finger I can effectively made all of them come true, the only thing I can truly do is say that you're the biggest idiot in the world." simply explained the Avatar of Rage, letting one of her hands cover her face as she calmly grabbed her cup once again.

"…you're taking all of this pretty well." offhandedly commented Homura, one of the most surprised from the girl's reaction, probably because she was the one with the most experience about women thanks to her old job as a host.

Or maybe because she was the most experienced in mental breakdowns caused by absurdly shocking news, who knows.

"And you were a man before all this began and I don't see you revolting in the ground in self-pity." Rin's comment managed to bring a cloud of depression over the fire-user's head and Shirou had to wonder why mentioning that little fact seemed like a good idea at the time…no wait, it didn't. Musubi happily blurted it out when he was explaining, as if it was something normal. "And believe me, under any other circumstances I wouldn't be reacting like this, but when you have had the couple of days we had have and saw the things we have seen one is forced to adapt a little… even if there is a freaking voice in your head telling you to set everything on fire and pound that idiot over there to the ground with a giant hammer. With burning spikes."

**_BURN! KILL! Show everyone what's the Rage, let that bastard know how fucking angry you really are!_**

"As Rin says, we can't say that we are not… 'displeased' about this 'circumstances' of yours, Shirou, but our own circumstances aren't precisely the best ones either." seriously added Saber…while having Kusano sitting in her lap, half-hugging the happy Sekirei as if she was a giant plush toy. "And also… is there something wrong?" interrupted herself the ex-Servant, noticing the weird look that Homura was giving her.

"….no, nothing." muttered the fire Sekirei while looking at the knight gently patting Kusano's head. "It's just that I just remembered that you're supposed to be King Arthur." the statement of the alien woman make Saber blink, confused.

"Ehm, yes, I am. Why?" asked the blonde girl with a raised eyebrow, not noticing how everyone who knew something about her legend was suddenly giving her curious/amused stares, especially at how she kept petting Kuu, making the little girl purr like a kitten.

"We're getting sidetracked, and we don't have time for that." interrupted Rin whatever chaos was about to ensue, looking directly at Shirou with a suddenly sheepish look.

"…Rin…what exactly happened when you two obtained those rings?" questioned Shirou, suddenly having a very bad feeling.

"I may… have blown up a couple of streets in the center of London…" the Emiya's eyes widened as he looked at the Tohsaka heir with incredulity "…and I may also have blown up all the bounded fields surrounding the Clocktower, knocked a noble through a wall and sent a couple of Enforcers to the hospital." she didn't bother to mention that she probable broke some of Luvia's bones, it wasn't worth the effort. "Bu-but it wasn't my fault!" she hastily added while huffing and looking away, arms crossed.

"How can anyone do all that without it being her fault?!" questioned Tsukiumi with incredulity, looking at Rin as if she was mad.

"Hey, if I say that it wasn't my fault, then it wasn't!"

"And I kept telling you, there is no way that you can blow up all of that by accident!"

"What would you know, you…cow!"

"What-?! How dare you say that, you…washboard!"

"Oh, so that's how it's, isn't it?! You want to fight, blondie?!" growled Rin while her ring shone dangerously and she stood up.

"You will regret saying that, girl, when you taste the fury of the strongest Sekirei!" answered Tsukiumi while standing too, water flowing furiously around her head, ignoring Miya's scowl and how almost everyone was looking from he to Rin with alarm.

Homura, meanwhile, was looking between the two of them with a horrified expression, a dawning epiphany seeming to have arrived to her mind.

"Oh god… there are two of them!"

"….you….what…how?!" it was truly a testament of Fate's trolling nature that for once it was Shirou the one speechless from the action of others. It could also be seen as a kindness for his sanity that he was too dumbstruck to notice the earlier exchange.

"It really wasn't Rin's fault, Shirou. The Entity inside of her had taken advantage of her ring's dark properties to control her." explained Saber to her ex-Master as she calmly raised her ring and let her blue shine make Rin's red aura to disappear, the Magus blinking and looking at her with a betrayed expression, at the same time that Miya put a hand in Tsukiumi's shoulder and happily reminded her of what would happen to those who broke the rules of Izumo Inn, making the blonde froze in fear and sit back down. "Besides, I probably knocked up three times more Enforcers than her when we escaped."

"…" was Shirou's eloquent answer to that.

"Ah. Ashikabi-sama, are you okay?" worriedly asked Akitsu, even if her face didn't express it that much.

"Shirou? Do you want to drink something, maybe?" asked Kazehana while producing a bottle of sake from between her breasts, making Rin sputter and Saber to look at her wide-eyed.

"…no thanks, Kazehana. I'm…okay." vaguely answered the red-head while putting a hand on his forehead. "Just wishing that this day doesn't get even more screwed."

Matsu coughed a little weirdly at that, making a point of seeming unimportant.

"…yes, now that we talk about that." Rin's eyes turned to Karasuba, who regarded her with a 'friendly' smile. "If I remember correctly from what you told me, isn't she like, the most dangerous and bloodthirsty of these…Sekirei? How in the hell did she end up with one of those rings and sitting here taking tea with you like there is nothing wrong at all?"

"Ah… well, you see, that's another complicated story…" awkwardly laughed Shirou while Karasuba looked at him, amused, probably looking forward to him explaining the events of the last days.

**_"Probably not as complicated as the fact that these two will die if their rings are removed and that those very unfriendly wizards are probably still looking for them."_** commented the Butcher with amusement, having materialized from Rin's ring at some point.

"They will WHAT?!" screamed Shirou while standing up

Everyone eyes widened in horror, Kusano looking confusedly and worriedly at a sudden tense Saber, whose eyes flared to the blue ring in her hand while Rin froze and adopted a sheepish face.

"Oh, yeah. I knew I was forgetting some little detail…"

"You call something like that LITTLE?! Rin, tell me exactly what…!"

"Ehm, Shirou-tan." the sudden sound of Matsu's voice made the eyes of everyone pressed to settle in her, unnerving the Sekirei a little. "I know that this is a really serious matter, but I was using my powers to search something since Rin-san said that about blowing up part of London and I thought that, maybe, you would like to know that we're appearing in television." she looked towards Rin and Saber. "All of us."

"What." was the simple general exclamation, at which Matsu answered by snapping her fingers, green electricity flaring in them, and turning on the TV.

All the presents turned around to see an international news channel transmitting about the shocking events of the day, images of Parallax, flying indigo trees and even a freaking giant, Shirou made of violet crystal (Which thankfully was blurry and crystallic enough to not be recognized) appearing, not to mention some videos of the streets infested by strange mechanical hybrids.

There were also replaying some reports and images of the Meteor Incident of a couple of days ago, diverse images of the Emerald Blade being zoomed on the screen while a little part also showed blurred pictures of a red and blue figures spotted upon London's sky, images of the red one smashing a hole through one of the sides of the Clocktower and of Saber jumping upon the surface of the river at its side being intercalated.

A long moment of silence (Three seconds) passed before all hell broke loose.

"You REALLY attacked the Clocktower itself directly?!

"You tried to stop a meteor barehanded?! And you fought against a freaking kaiju-insect?!"

"Well…this is certainly awkward."

"Woah! You can walk upon water, Saber-nee?!"

"Hmpf, that's nothing especial at all…"

"How could you be such an idiot?!"

"Excuse me, are YOU really telling that to ME?!"

"Am I the only one worried about the fact that this is probably appearing through the news of THE ENTIRE WORLD?!"

"Ara, leave it be, Matsu. I think Emiya-kun is more worried about arguing with Tohsaka-san at this moment, don't you think?"

"Woah, look at those two go at it. One can clearly see that they have quite the story together… is there more tea, Mu-chan?"

"Yeah, I will go search some!"

"Ah. Ashikabi-sama looks pretty relaxed while arguing with her."

"…and the sad thing is that, as far as I know, that would be the most normal thing about him."

"Oh, cheer up Homura! After all, it looks like those two are still going to go at it for a while." smiled Uzume before glancing back to the news. "Well, things are certainly going to be even crazier in the future. Don't you think so, Chiho?"

"Uh… Shirou-san… and the two of them… uh…" muttered the blushing and still a little out of it Ashikabi.

Uzume just blinked before grinning again.

"You know, I would have expected you to react like that when you saw that he had so many Sekirei, but oh well, I think that something like that with two 'normal' girls is quite more of a shock, eh?" she said while happily hugging her Ashikabi closer.

And while the mayhem in the inn kept going full force… no one noticed how a sinister-looking insect with blade-like wings flew away from its observing point by the window.

Its sickly and ghostly orange form disappeared into the night without a trace.

* * *

The silence of the dark office was broken when a silent Enforcer entered the room.

"My Queen. I bring back the information."

"Inform me. Now." dryly stated a weary-looking Barthomeloi Lorelei, the strain that she had put herself in to not lose her calm during the Fear-Wave finally starting to notice.

"Yes, my Queen." the man silently walked to her desk and deposited several pictures in it, quickly arranging them before signaling one that showed the roaring form of Parallax towering over buildings, from a low and unfocused angle. "The images were provided by some of the students of El-Melloi's class. This is the creature that apparently caused the phenomenon, we're almost certain of that."

"…that thing is no Magical or Phantasmal Beast." muttered the Vice Director of the Magus Association with narrowed eyes. Size apart, just looking at the image of the Emotional Entity was enough to make her eyes felt as if they were witnessing something they weren't supposed to. "What the hell is that thing? Something like that can't just pop out of nowhere, and we would have noticed if it existed before!"

"We're still uncertain, my Queen. Some teams have already been dispatched to Japan to investigate, but of what we're sure is that the creature is…'gone', for lack of a better term. It apparently was beaten by…" he brought up the other images. "Them."

Lorelei observed silently the figures of someone riding a giant flying indigo tree, a scandalously dressed woman unleashing violet light and crystals from her hands and an emerald clad warrior wielding swords.

The fact that got her attention the most, however, were the rings that they all had in their hands.

"Those are…"

"Yes, we have confirmed from the survivors of the Tohsaka girl's mindless attack that those rings have an uncanny resemblance with the one that she had in her possession, which was apparently giving her those unnatural powers as well as possessing her." he silently looked at some other images, which showed blurred scenes of the battle and some of the aftermath. "If it was anything like these others, then we can count ourselves lucky that her Familiar stopped her before the damages went beyond a broken wall and a couple of injured. These rings can not only give these unnatural powers but, apparently, if certain unknown conditions are met…" he brought up another couple of images, one that showed the figure of Golden Shōkyaku unleashing destruction in the city and another of her corrupted form fighting at Parallax' side. "…they can also allow the user to summon one of these 'things'."

The second most dangerous female Magus in the world tried to digest that for a couple of seconds, her mind running wild through the implications, not even bothering to remark to the man that having lose all of the ancestral Bounded Fields around the Clocktower was certainly not something to count as 'lucky'.

"This… this is insane." she finally muttered, losing part of her legendary composure for a moment. "That thing was… 'summoned' here by the woman with that ring? Are we… certain of this?"

"Most of the last are only speculations, my Queen, but given the little evidence we have that's the best theory we can come up with. Also, given the fact that there are so many of these rings and that they come in different colors, the possible existence of more of these 'creatures' is also very high." he showed her the final set of pictures, these showing the Emerald Blade stopping the meteor. "Even without that, the power they seem to grant to its users is in an otherworldly level."

"That thing…was able to get into the minds of practically all the planet, from the weakest human to the greatest Magus, even those dammed Apostles, and it would have driven all of us mad if it hadn't been stopped. And now, you're telling me that not only there can be more of them but also that these 'rings' that summon them grant almost Sorcerer-Level power to its users…" a grave look covered Lorelei's face, her eyes as two grim oceans as she looked back at the Enforcer. "This is maybe the greatest threat that the Association has faced since its creation."

"If it helps any, my Queen, no one seems to be talking about Magecraft; and our existence is still a secret. The people are, apparently, using more…'bizarre' explanations for all of this."

"I'm not just talking about the secrecy, dammit!" shouted the woman while standing up, startling the Enforcer and making him take a step back. "Can't you see it?! There are at least six of these 'ring bearers', who knows if there are more, and at least three of them are working together, maybe keeping a fourth one prisoner, if they didn't kill her right after the fight, all of them with the power of possibly summoning unknown Type-creatures that can cause more damage without moving than the ORT does to his fucking valley!" she slammed her fists at the table, cracking it even more. "The whole world is under menace just from the existence of these rings and its users. They have to disappear."

"…the Church thought that you would probably react like these, my Queen." darkly declared the man before producing a regal-looking letter from his coat, depositing it in the half-broken desk. "This arrived some thirty minutes ago. After deliberating with Merem and asking him about the aftereffects of the 'Incident', they have decided to be Neutral with this. With their own words: 'These other users stopped other from what could have been a global catastrophe. As long as they themselves don't become an active menace, we won't see them as enemies.'" the Enforcer took out his dark glasses, observing how Lorelei's eyes narrowed more and more as they traveled through the letter. "As you can guess, this is probably their excuse to not risk angering these 'Ring-Bearers'. After what had happened, most won't blame them for adopting this course of action."

"Those dammed, spineless, cowards…" growled the Queen of the Clocktower while burning the paper to ashes, her furious eyes closing as she recovered her cold demeanor. "We don't need them. If they are too scared to do what needs to be done, then we will do it ourselves. I'm not risking something that can threaten the entire world to the whims of some unknown idiots who don't care about the dangers that is putting a millennia-old secret in its greatest risk since founding." she opened her eyes again, and they seemed to pierce through the man's very soul. "I want all of them dead. And after that, I want those rings sealed in the deepest part of Atlas and the key destroyed. Organize the teams yourself if necessary, use all the resources you need… no matter the cost, I want it done."

"…it will be done, my Queen." bowed the man while putting his glasses on. "I assume that we want to do this as discretely as possible?"

"If we don't, then I would go there myself." grimaced the woman while looking at the pictures. "But we need to avoid any type of direct confrontations with these objectives. We still don't know the scope of their abilities. But no matter how much power these rings give them…" she grabbed one of the images of the Emerald Blade helping remove the debris from a collapsed building. "They are still human. They can't be at their full power all the time. And they will make mistakes." she silently crushed the picture. "And when they do it… they will die."

A simple nod was all that the man gave to his superior before turning around to go to a mission from when he most likely wouldn't return alive. No other expression was needed, for the man have been trained by Lorelei herself.

The Queen put on an emotionless expression before standing up and exiting the room herself. If this was going to be done, then she would do all that he could without direct intervention to ensure their success.

She didn't notice how, just when she closed the door, the shadows of her office seemed to come alive, countless whispers coming from them for a second before they returned to normal.

And the Darkness kept watching…

* * *

Even if there is now Light shining in this world, that doesn't mean it has immediately become a better place.

No, of course not. Even if, slowly and unnoticed, the Lights have started to change the world, it's still a very sinister and dark one. Even when people should be more united and humble, there are still shadows that lie in wait to bring despair. And not always it was some horrible monster or supernatural threat, no.

More often than not, Evil could be found within humanity itself.

A clear example of that was this lonely alley of the half-destroyed Shin Tokyo, where a poor young woman was scurrying back towards a wall, looking frightened at the man holding a knife before her.

It seemed such a simple thing, not that she thought about it. Her father had been seriously hurt during the impossible situation of that evening, but thanks to the mysterious indigo light that had covered the city when the giant trees started to appear and to the effort of those weir hybrid-vehicles going around the city he had ended up in the hospital and almost totally recovered. While her mother stayed with him, she had returned to their house to see if the damage of the battle had reached it and to grab a few things for them, because they would stay tonight in the hospital.

And just when she was returning, walking back from the desolates streets of the center Shin Tokyo, this man had appeared and forced her in the alley, threatening her with his weapon, a sinister look in his eyes.

"Well, looks like it's my lucky day…" sinisterly smiled the man, who stunk of alcohol and something else. "I thought that when that freaking monster-bug crushed my truck with all the goods inside I was done for, but maybe I can release a little stress with you, sweaty."

"Ple-please, do-don't hurt me…" pleaded the woman while looking around desperately, but knowing that there wasn't anyone near. "I do-don't have any money…"

"Oh, c'mon baby, you know that I'm not looking for money…" he chuckled darkly before grabbing her arms, making her start to squirm and scream. "You can scream all that you want, dear. There is no one around here and MBI is all over the hospitals and trying to understand what the hell happened, so there is nobody that's going to come to help you." he snickered. "Unless, of course, you're waiting for one of those superheroes to come and save you?" he laughed. "Yeah, right, like that's ever going to…"

_Squelch. Squirm. Hisss…_

The man of the knife and the struggling woman froze; both of them snapping their heads in the direction from where the strange and…disturbing sounds came from. Coming from the shadows, as if forming into existence from the void itself, a ghostly figure materialized.

The grinning visage of a hunched and little old man, wearing orange robes with a strange circular symbol upon a black background on his chest. An orange ring with the same emblem shined sinisterly on his decrepit hand.

But the most sinister and unsettling thing about him wasn't any of that, no. It was his appearance in itself.

His whole body was a bright, sickly orange. And half-transparent, almost immaterial.

Like a ghost. An evil specter brought out of some horrible nightmare.

The startled man let go of the woman, who grabbed her bag and retreated further into the alley, both their eyes fixed upon the unnatural apparition.

The old man grinned back, his closed eyes seeming to be fixed upon the not-drunk-anymore man.

"Wha-what the in the world?! What the hell are you, old man?!" shouted the scared man while backing away, droopily swinging his knife at the apparition, who keep smiling and took a step forward. "S-stay away!"

The sinister old man stopped, filling the shady man with relief.

And then, he raised his ring, which shined with sinister orange light before his body broke into hundreds of big, orange worms, all of them flying upon the frozen and incredulous man with the speed of bullets.

The last thing the man saw before his world erupted into pain was a wall of serrated and monstrous fangs crashing upon him from all directions.

"UUUAAAAGGGGHHH…!"

"KYAAAAAA!" was the scream of answer of the woman, who ran away blindly like a maniac with all the speed that her legs could muster, not stopping screaming or to look back even a second.

Her screams hadn't still disappeared in the distance before the mass of worms dispersed and reformed into the ghostly old man, who simply stood there without doing anything else.

The only evidence that the other man was ever there was a bloody mark on the alley's ground.

"Heh, heh… I wish you could appreciate the irony of what you just did, grandfather…" giggled a feminine voice from the shadows. "Or it is of 'what I made you' do? I can't even tell anymore, heh…"

Once again, as if the shadows had just spread apart to let an unseen figure materialize, an orange and black figure appeared into the alley.

The sinister form of Matou Sakura walked slowly until she stood at the side of the specter with the form of what used to be Matou Zouken, who glanced back at her, his face now blank.

Like a dog waiting for the next order from its master.

"Oww, what a lovely expression. It suits you reaaally well, you know?" giggled again the woman while her ring shined, making the specter to kneel in front of her. "Really, it's a shame that you can't appreciate the irony of all this, but then again, you can't really appreciate anything anymore, right?" she smiled that broken smile of hers, so wrong that it could make a soul cringe in revulsion. "So, how does it feel having your lifelong wish fulfilled, grandfather? How does it feel to have an immortal and free of pains body?"

"**I only exists by your wishes.**" monotony answered the specter, Zouken's voice sounded uncanny wrong without any emotion in it.

"Yes. That's true. I'm not your broken toy anymore." she smiled again. "Now you are mine."

Then, she fiercely kicked the specter against the wall, where it broke and dissolved into particles of orange light. Sakura broke into yet another fit of mad giggles as she felt his essence going back insider her ring, waiting for her command to be called. She looked at the blood in the ground, a look of wonder in her eyes as she contemplated something…

She was brought out of her musings when a dozen of strange orange insects descended from the sky around her, a smile appearing in her face once again as her white hair flapped slightly.

"Ah, yes, did any of you find sempai?" she asked with a disturbingly obsessed tone as the Wing-Blade Worms dispersed into orange light and flew back insider her ring to reunite with the rest of Zouken's essence, the images and sounds that all of them had seen flashing through her mind at impossible speeds.

One of them immediately stood out of the rest, and she concentrated in it.

A traditional Japanese home. A sign that read 'Izumo'.

And inside…

Him.

Her sempai. Shirou.

_MINE._

"Sempai…" she muttered while a tear of happiness came from her right eye. Oh, it had been so long since she last saw him, his handsome face, his bright red hair, and his honey-colored eyes. His voice sounded like music in her ears, who had longed so long to hear it again…

And then, her perfect moment of enjoyment was broken when she saw the whole scene. He wasn't alone.

There they were, her old Servant, _SHE…_ and a lot of beautiful and unknown girls.

Her confusion started to turn into something far darker as she saw how most of them addressed or acted towards him.

Her mind saw and heard the entirety of what had been said and done in the Inn during hours in just a couple seconds.

"What." she muttered flatly as the explications of both sides kept going.

Her hands hanged loosely at her sides.

"What?" she repeated, slightly higher this time.

Her hands were now tightly clenched into fists.

"WHAT?!" she roared at the sky once everything had been said and the memories of the insect had ended, her mind a torrent of chaos, hate… and jealousy.

Rin. That _oh so perfect_ sister of hers. How could she have allowed that?! How could she have allowed those bastards of the Association to drive Sempai away like an animal, forcing him to flee for his life?! And how could she have just let him go like that?! She wouldn't have done that. She would have given a damn about the fucking Clocktower or whatever position she had there for Shirou. _She_ didn't. She let herself be convinced by him to let him go alone.

That proved that she never deserved him. Not if him wasn't the most important thing in her life.

And that Servant of hers, Saber…

Her whole body burn and her ring shined angrily when she remembered that part once again. She had also been with Shirou?! And Rin had allowed it, just like that?! WHY?!

Why had the damn Servant that he just know for little more than a year before going away been also allowed to have the love she was denied?! She didn't deserve him either!

And those women. Those aliens. The Sekirei. Oh, those were that irked her the most. So, did they think themselves worthy of him, of his affection, just because a fucking reaction in their dammed species made them stick to him like leeches?! They were the ones that deserved him the least. They were the ones that she would made suffer the most when she tore all of them a part to claim what was HERS.

_MINE._

She was going to destroy them, to devour them, all of them; those aliens, the Servant…and her _beloved sister_. She would be the last. She would make her watch as she killed all of them and made Shirou hers forever… before devouring her too. Enjoy the horror and despair in her face and then…!

**Wait.**

The voice came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, making Sakura froze. She idly realized that it was coming from inside her, and that this fact didn't seem to bother her.

**Don't rush things, Sakura. You have to be patient or you won't be able to claim what's rightfully yours.**

"Why?" she questioned with a whisper, talking at the voice as if it was an old friend**.**

**The rings, all of them, like the one that have given you freedom. They have them, he who belongs to you and those around him. They could stop you. But you can overcome them, all of them.**

"How?" she whispered once again, a look of wonder in her eyes.

**You know how. You can feel it. The need. The urge. You can become stronger than all of them together, and this city and the beings that inhabit it are the perfect way to do that.**

There was an eternal pause as the Orange Lantern waited for the voice to keep going.

**You have to FEED.**

"Feed…yes, that's it. I'm hungry. The Light is hungry. And eating makes us stronger…" the mad glint returned to her eyes. "Yes, I will eat. And when I do, I will make what I eat mine, like I did with grandfather, heh, heh, heh…!" she started to giggle once again. "And then, when I make the power mine… I will take what is mine. What should have always been MINE."

**Yes. That's the answer, dear. And their rings…they will be yours too.**

"Yes, their rings, they will be mines too…" she vaguely muttered while standing up, her ring flaring to live once again. "Ring…find me somewhere to feed. Somewhere where I can eat a LOT."

_"Searching abnormal energy sources…"_ resounded the robotic and monotone voice. _"High concentration of living beings possessing above-standard levels of unknown energy found. Signaling location…"_

"Good. But first…" she smiled darkly as she stood up, a familiar form materializing from her orange and black shadow. "Grandfather. I need you to do something…"

A couple of seconds later, the shadows once again covered the alley, void of any evidence of what had happened before.

Even of the now disappeared stain of blood.

* * *

Shirou sighed deeply, silently looking at the sky from his place seating in the garden.

It was almost past two in morning, and even if it had been a long and tiring day, he couldn't find himself just going to sleep.

A lot had happened after the initial outburst he and Rin had had after seeing the news. Shouts and senseless mayhem at first, but a lot of heavy explanation had followed.

Rin and Saber had fully explained in detail the incident with the red ring, the Butcher using it to possess Rin and Adara bringing the blue one to the blonde knight, allowing her to help the Magus return to normal.

And how all that had resulted in both their lives becoming totally dependent of their rings.

It was safe to say that now there was another Emotional Entity that he didn't like in the slightest, along with Parallax. Then again, he supposed that something would be wrong with the Multiverse if the Incarnations of Fear and Rage were happy and friendly beings.

Then, it had been his turns to explain properly the events that had happened since his Power Ring had chosen him as the Green Lantern of this universe.

Testing his powers. Confronting the Disciplinary Squad. The Emerald Blade (Saber had raised an eyebrow and Rin had given him an 'Are you serious?' look when he had explained that part). Helping and healing Chiho. Karasuba turning into Golden Shōkyaku. Saving his sister from Higa, all the confrontations with Karasuba (Who by the end of the conversation was receiving a lot of weary and distrustful looks from both girls), Parallax liberation, how he ended up defeating the Sekirei to free her from he fears and she winging herself to him.

Then, there was the whole part about the seven bearers chosen by the rings apparently needing to be together if they wanted to stop the incoming 'Darkness' and how their Emotional Entities weren't the 'real ones'.

It had been a loooong conversation between them, and some questions that were asked now and then didn't help matters, especially when Rin had let go some things that he hadn't told the others about his life before being an Ashikabi, thinking that he would have already done it.

The reaction and look of amazement in Chiho's face when she realized that he had been a 'wizard' even before being a 'superhero' was almost cute to see, as had been her empathy and sorrow at hearing the little of the Grail War that Rin had commented.

The reaction from everyone else when she had accidentally revealed that the only Servant he hadn't told them about was his 'evil-self from a parallel future coming to kill him to create a paradox and erase himself from existence' had not been so much amusing as alarming.

Homura's in particular. He was just glad that Akitsu had been quick to 'cool her off' before she had combusted herself from, her own words, 'too much insanity'.

He REALLY needed to find some psychological help for the fire user. And he had been quick to correct everyone's idea of Archer. After all, the Counter Guardian hadn't been 'Evil' by the general standard. True, he had been a jerk, had betrayed Rin, had tried to kill him and put everyone in danger more than once, had been a pain in the ass with his dry sarcasm and he would never forgive him for abandoning his ideals…

But in the end, EMIYA hadn't been evil. Only someone too tired of Life and Fate having betrayed and broken him too many times, and had decided in an almost impossible course of action that 'Emiya Shirou' would have never took to try and end his suffering.

And in the end, he had even helped them 'a little'.

He cringed when he remembered that night not too long ago, the night when Uzume asked him to save Chiho, when he had realized how much he had changed from his old self and how much closer he was to becoming more like Archer. That had certainly been a point of inflexion.

He silently looked at the green ring in his hand, a thing that seemed so little and harmless, but contained more power than practically anything in this world. It had been this…no, Him, who had allowed himself to see it. And to start changing, to see things in a way that he had never seen before, to put his views of life in a whole new light…

"Thanks, ring."

_"…I'm not sure what was that for, but you're welcome, Shirou."_ the red head's eyes widened a little at the conduit of Willpower words, making him realize that he had said those words out loud, but then he chuckled slightly before once again looking to the sky.

The moon was beautiful tonight.

He amusedly thought that he now could go up there, see it up close and be back before breakfast. The thought was half-formed in his mind when the sound of light footsteps echoed through the hall, making him blink in surprise and turn around to see Rin standing not far from him, clad in a pajama that had probably been Homura's property not long ago.

The Magus looked at her with confusion. Certainly, after all was said and done, the main fact remained clear: Rin and Saber were now wanted fugitives of the Association, probably with Sealing Designations even higher than his, and they had nowhere to go, or anything else apart from their reality-altering rings.

The necessity of having all the ring bearers together apart, he would have never allowed them to go away after hearing that, and Miya had accepted that they stayed with only a little hesitation, probably because even she had realized that there were starting to be too many occupants in the Inn.

Or maybe because of how instable Rin seemed at the moment, if the flashes that her ring had been giving were anything to go by. He had offered them to stay in his room as he took the couch, not wanting to make the situation more awkward… something that had failed miserably when Musubi had wondered out loud why they simply didn't take a turn in their sleeping arrangement, stating that she had already decided to share hers with Karasuba.

The stare that Rin had given him had sent more chills down his spine than Parallax could ever have, and the stoic demeanor of Saber while looking at him with an almost analyzing gaze had been really unnerving.

The grin in Karasuba's face has been equally unsettling in its own way.

Still, until things could be cleared and everything somehow sorted out, he had been hoping that they would, at least temporarily, feel at home in Izumo Inn. For him, it had been already some sort of second home, and Saber seemed to have taken a liking to little Kuu-chan, who also seemed to have become almost instantly attached to her 'new Onee-san'.

Uzume and Chiho also had more or less befriended the blonde knight, the awed Ashikabi especially after finally understanding that, somehow, the girl was truly THE King Arthur from the legends.

The fact that she didn't question and wholly believed that fact had truly surprised the ex-Servant and earned a smile from Shirou. The girl was truly an example of the goodwill of humanity, and that certainty of hers to see the sincerity of others, no matter how outrageous it was, was nothing short of amazing.

Musubi also seemed to have developed some sort of weird liking towards Rin, if the endless questions that she had been bugging her with were anything to go by. Too bad that the Tohsaka heir had for the most part just ignored her or hastily answered with short words, thinking that the Star Sapphire would catch the indirect. Sadly, that only seemed to give the bubbly Sekirei the impression that she wanted to keep talking to her.

So, now the question was, why was Rin up so late, and what exactly did she want to tell him? Certainly, the neutral stare she was giving him didn't give any clues.

"…follow me." she simply muttered.

"Uh? What…?" Shirou couldn't even finish formulating the question before Rin was enveloped in a crimson flash that forced him to look away, only to snap his head up a second later, seeing a red blur shooting to the sky.

He blinked several times before nodding and standing up.

_'This is a really bad idea.'_ resounded his Ashura's voice.

"I wasn't asking for your opinion."

'Oh, shut up, Ashura! Is just Rin, what's the worst that could happen?' cheerfully commented his inner Hero.

Both the other mental voice and the Green Lantern turned as silent as a grave, 'staring' at the little manifestation with disbelief/horror.

_'…you did NOT just say that about a Rin that has become the Avatar of the living incarnation of Rage.'_

'Uh…'

"Ugh… ring, do me a favor and…don't say anything, okay?" muttered Shirou as green light covered him. "I have the feeling that this is not going to be an easy talk."

_"Ok, if that's what you want, Shirou_…" quietly answered the Power Ring before falling silent, at the same time that the heroic form of the Emerald Blade emerged and shot himself to the sky, following the flying figure of the Red Lantern.

Not even thirty seconds later, both of them landed on a rooftop, Rin some twenty meters away from him, and he finally got a look at how the girl's Red Lantern's uniform was.

He was surprised, and not for the fact that it showed off an amount of skin that he would expect more from Sekirei's clothes than from Rin's, but because it overall looked like a stylized and slightly modified version of her old usual attire from High School, her hair even pulled up in that nostalgic twin-tails style that used to characterize her.

Then, she turned around and he could clearly felt her eyes boring into him from behind her half-mask. He gulped silently, and once again thanked the fact that his helmet hided his face and expressions completely, the main reason what he had designed his uniform like that when his ring has explained the advantages of imagination-shaped Light. A helmet that gave him a lot of extra points of views and advantages for silent communication instead of obstructing his view was very useful, after all.

"…it's a pretty night, don't you think?" finally spoke Rin after what seemed like an eternity of silence, looking up at the moon. "When was the last time that we were alone in a night like this?"

"In the graveyard, near Kotomine's church. Back in the Grail War." immediately answered the Green Lantern without taking his eyes from her. No matter how much time passed, that was one of the moments in his life that he could never forget.

"Yeah, you're right. Everything seemed so hopeless at that time…" she whispered while looking at the half-destroyed center of Shin Tokyo. "But we managed to solve everything in the end, didn't we? You were such a stubborn idiot back then…" she turned to regard to him. "…you still are."

"But?" he inquired.

"…you seem… so much more like back then." she said while biting her lips, surprising him. "I'm not stupid, you know? I have noticed it. How you act, how you react… how you smile." she put on a sad face. "I can't remember the last time that I saw you behave like you did this evening…"

"Rin…"

"It was them, right? Those Sekirei… they have helped you more in a couple of months than me and Saber in all these years." she closed her eyes behind her mask, opening them once more to look at him. "I guess that's what really pisses me off."

"No, Rin, you're wr…!"

"Defend yourself." she suddenly said, Shirou's eyes opening wide with confusion.

"What do…?"

_"SHIROU, DODGE!"_ cried his ring fiercely, making him react in time to fly back and barely avoid being brutally flattened by a giant baseball bat of red light.

The now flying Magus looked with incredulity at the now totally destroyed roof before his eyes snapped up at the incoming form of Crimson Ruby, the girl's Power Aura and eyes shining in a burning and angry red.

"Rin?! What the hell are you doing?!" shouted the Emiya while swiftly creating multiple shield-constructs in an attempt to cage the furious Red Lantern, who smashed through them barehanded with monstrous brutality, making him wince from the mental backslash. "Agh! Stop!"

"C'mon, is that all you have got?! Why did you dress up like that, then?" growled Rin while engulfing her fists in flaming red light and unleashing a barrage of sharp attacks upon Shirou, who did his best to defend himself with half-assed constructs which couldn't stand up at the Tohsaka's proficiency in Martial Arts. "Believing yourself some kind of manga protagonists or American-comic superhero?! We're not teenagers anymore, Shirou! Grown up!"

**_YES! Like that, that's what I wanted to see! Go, my Avatar, crush that stupid Green Lantern!_**

_"Shirou, she has gone insane, we have to fight back!"_ cried the red head's Power Ring while they received another hit, which sent them flying like a ragdoll.

"…Trace on." muttered the Magus while his circuits flared to life. "Will-Reinforcement, 60% Resistance. Extra reinforcement to the bones and skin.

_"What?!"_ Shirou ignored the cry of outrage from his ring as he felt his body turning harder than diamonds and stronger than the mightiest steel. Then, he flew back and stood still, looking silently at the snarling figure of Rin coming at him full-speed _"Shirou, what're you doing?! She's coming!"_

"I know." he answered while raising his arms. "Let her come."

"GAH!" roared Rin before slamming against him and letting her fists once again rain upon him with ferocity. "Idiot, idiot, idiot…!" she finally slammed her whole body against him, pushing the Green Lantern against the ground at neck breaking speeds… but the Emiya surprised her by wrapping his arms around her, forcing the squirming Red Lantern to go all the way to the ground with him.

A furious crash destroyed brutally one of the only streets of the center that hadn't been totalized during Parallax attack.

"…is that all?" questioned Shirou while looking up at Rin, who was half-sitting on top of him.

"You…stupid idiot!" she growled before starting to repeatedly hit his chest, each time with less strength as tears started to slip from her mask. "Why…why aren't you fighting back?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?" he answered while letting his helmet disperse, looking directly at her while putting a hand in one of her cheeks, vaguely surprised by the slightly burning and red tears that fell from her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you, Rin. Never. Archer may have done it if the need arise… but I'm not him. That's not who I'm." he gently tore off her mask, letting it disperse while looking directly into her beautiful ocean-colored orbs. "That's not who Emiya Shirou is."

"…they have really helped you to change, haven't they?" softly chuckled the girl while trying to look away, but found herself surprised when Shirou's hand stopped her from doing so.

"Only in part." he told while clenching the fist in where his ring rested, letting her eyes look upon the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps. "This is what really showed me how much I have changed. It made me realize how little I'm in this world. How much my ideals affected those around me…" he gently cupped her cheek, looking at her with a sincere smile. "And how much I was hurting those close to me without realizing it myself."

"What…?"

"I love you, Rin." the Tohsaka froze; those four simple words making her whole body stiffen and her eyes go wide, still fixed upon the smiling Green Lantern.

"Wha-what did you just…?"

"I love you." he repeated once again, making her face blush as red as her uniform and to turn her eyes away with embarrassment. "I realized that I never say it enough, neither to you nor to Saber. And I'm really sorry for that. But, no matter what happens, that will never change. I still cherish my ideals, but I'm not going to let them rule my life anymore if that means hurting those for which I care about." he closed his eyes while letting out a sigh. "It took almost being killed by a bloodthirsty alien girl possessed by the Incarnation of Fear to make me realize that, but I'm glad it did."

"Idiot… how can you just go and say that after I just tried to smash you with punches that could break a freaking tank…?" she muttered while still not looking at him.

"Well, I figured that something was really wrong when you started to try and punch me to death instead of just shooting Gandrs to me until I couldn't even breath." he half-joked while trying to stand up. "Besides, with my Will-Reinforcement and Power Aura combination I wasn't really in any…"

Whatever else he was going to say died in his throat when Rin grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. Aquamarine and golden eyes crossed in a moment that stretched for eternity.

Shirou didn't know how long they were kissing before he was aware of what was going on, but it should have been some time if his need of breath was anything to go by, his mouth savoring the long-longed taste of her lips. He slowly, almost reluctantly, felt her separate from him, a smile in her face that was strangely tarnished by a slight wince.

"Ouch. Heh, I don't know if I should feel angry or not at the fact you have gotten better at kissing."

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern, noticing the slight pain in her eyes.

"Yeah, it's just that my chest is hurting a little. Is coming from my ring, but, it has happened every so often when…" she trailed off, looking confusedly at the side. "Uh?"

**_That… was disappointing. Ugh, you're lucky that I need you to keep living or I would have let the damn ring kill you in that last one._**

_"What the hell are you talking about?"_

**_Oh, yeah, you don't know. Is the fucking Love, stupid Violet Light of that Predator bitch… A Red Lantern shouldn't feel it, so normally, if one feels Love, is abandoned by his/her ring. And well, you know, as the rings have become their hearts, when they go away…puf. You're just lucky that I decided to use my almighty generosity to stop it from happening, and don't worry about those winces, they will go away with time, but it would be so much easier if you just forgot about that idiotic Avatar of Ion and proceeded to kill everyone and everything until…!_**

"Rin, you okay?" asked Shirou while seeing the girl coming out of her daze.

"Yeah, I'm alright, just surprised that the lunatic bull in my head had been saving my life all this time without me even realizing it." she laughed a little at the dumbfounded expression in the Emiya's face, before looking at him seriously. "Do you love them?"

It was clear as to who she was referring to.

"…not yet. At least, not like I do with you and Saber." he admitted while looking straight in her eyes. "It's not just the bond, I have really grown slowly attached to them… but you know me, Rin, and I could never be simply 'alright' with a situation like this." he sighed once again while remembering all the 'Harem' jokes he had been receiving lately. "I think that my affection for them will only grow, seeing as I can't just leave them… but my feelings for you and Saber will never change." he looked at her. "Also, I'm still REALLY awkward about how the whole 'alien affection' thing works. I only see Kusano as a little sister, but according to Miya that will change once she hits puberty or something." the Magus had to suppress a shiver at that. He could just hope that Kuu-chan would keep being the sweet and innocent girl she was now as she grew up.

…what did he felt as if he could hear Archer laughing at him for that thought?

The sudden sound of Rin laughing whole-heartily and hugging him brought his mind out of that weird and disturbing line of thought.

"…ah…I'm still mad, you know? But… I think I can live with that, at least for now." she silently buried her face in his chest, huffing and making a point of not letting him see his flushed face. "When all this craziness is over, we're going to have a serious talk, okay?" she suddenly raised her head to look at him, a light scowl in her face. "And you're apologizing to Saber first thing in the morning, too."

"Of course, I was planning on doing that." he muttered while caressing her hair, making her look away with a huff once again. "I'm not sure if she will take it as…'good' as you, though."

"Yeah, well, that's what you get when you…"

_MINE._

Both of them froze.

_GET AWAY FROM HIM._

It was not a voice, nor an echo. It was as if a thought has been engraved in the air and was being projected hatefully towards them…no, towards ONE of them.

_MINE._

The two Lanterns eyes widened and they flew in opposed directions just in time to avoid what seemed to be an avalanche of orange worms and sinisterly orange winged insects, which barreled past them and furiously crashed against one of the abandoned buildings at the side of the street.

"Rin, are you okay?!"

"Ye-yeah, but… what the hell was that?!" she cried while they fixed their gazes in the squirming mass of bugs…that slowly shrunk and took a new shape.

The half-transparent and grinning visage of an old man in orange robes greeted them, an orange ring shining sinisterly in his hand.

Shirou looked at the specter with caution and confusion, but Rin's eyes grew wide as they bore disbelievingly into his form.

"Matou… Zouken?"

Far from there, Sakura's eyes narrowed as she gritted her teeth, but the voice was there to calm her down. It wasn't exactly what she was planning, not expecting his 'grandfather' to find them out of the house or like THAT, but it would do. The diversion was set.

She forced her jealousy down into her soul with the help of the voice and let the hunger replace it, her eyes boring down into the place in front of her, where her ring had found the major concentration of those strange aliens.

The mansion in the southern part of the city.

She let her sinister smile return to her face. The Light was hungry.

It was time to FEED.

And inside her very soul, the owner of the voice, still sitting in top of the paralyzed Ophidian, smiled as he looked at her puppet prepare for the next part. His evil grin grew even larger when Sakura started moving.

Soon, more power than ever would be at his call…

And then, the other rings would be his.

**YES.**

And everything else in this dammed world would follow them.

* * *

**Chapter End.**

* * *

Uff, yeah, finally! For a moment I thought I would be unable to finish this before going back to classes tomorrow, but it looks like I have done it! Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, things have started a little slow this season, but we can see how the world slowly answers to the 'menace' of the rings. Reactions are mixed and are going to keep changing as the events unfolds, from both the normal and the supernatural side of the world XP

And we can see, as well, that the Agent Orange is starting to move, the 'mysterious and unknown' being that has trapped Ophidian manipulating her fragile mind with ease, who could really be this 'mysterious' enemy OwO?

Also, I hope that the scene with Rin was good. Writing her character is really difficult sometimes and I fear that I may have gone a little OOC with her in some parts, but I have to give thanks to me being able to do it more or less good with her and Saber to the recently released translation of Fate/Hollow Ataraxia =D 100% translated and 97% revised, yeah, we're finally able to fully enjoy this jewel in English! All the fans of the Nasuverse should go immediately to play it as soon as they can, is really great and it gives a ton of background history to the characters and their personalities, a lot of things that you can't really appreciate by just reading it in the wikia OwO

Oh, and worry not, Saber fans. She will also have her little moment with Shirou later on, we can't forgot about our favorite Servant, after all =P

Well, that's all for now my beloved readers, I start classes tomorrow and that sadly means that the update rate is going to slow quite a lot, but I promise to keep writing in every free moment I can manage, I won't let his story die :3

Next time, in the Emerald Blade, a dark night is upon Shin Tokyo! In the shadows, no one can hear you scream for help…

Ok, that was unnecessary XD Until next time, my friends, this is Saint, signing off!


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